Of Love and Affection
by Jharu Serenade
Summary: -AU-Meet Cagalli, the feisty blonde with a heart of gold and a temper to match. As we join her at EU in search of her identity, watch the drama unfold as she is confronted with every obstacle a teen can expect. Is love in the air for this tumultuous tomboy or her popular smitten suitor's love go unrequited?
1. Criteria List

**Disclaimers****: **I do not own Gundam Seed

**A/N: **Hi! I know...it's been too long since I last visit this fandom nope I have not given up on this fanfic nor Am I dead yet. Just some clarification before we move on, Yes...I'm the author of **Tangled Cags** so I own this plot! There's a reason why an author keeps on re-publishing her works.^^ I'm still working with the same editor since the very beginning, just because I'm one picky reader and writer?

**Full Summary:** Meet Cagalli, the feisty blonde with a heart of gold and a temper to match. As we join her at EU in search of her identity, watch the drama unfold as she is confronted with every obstacle a teen can expect. Whether it be fighting off rabid, jealous fan girls of the school's most popular boys; or dealing with the fact that she may be falling in love with the boy in the popular group she hates the most. Is love in the air for this tumultuous tomboy or will her popular smitten suitor's love go unrequited. Read and find out! ^ - ^

**Credits: **To my lovely mentor, **Hotaruzala!**

**First published**: Tangled Cags (Year 2010)

**Second re-published: **Love and affection (Year 2012)

**Third re-published: ** Of Love and affection ( Year 2014)

Hmm... the next installment of, of Love and Affection it's on its way...^^

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><p><strong>OF LOVE AND AFFECTION<strong>

**Chapter One: Criteria List **

Eternity University is one of the most popular universities among students living in PLANTS.

The only thing that makes this university the most outstanding of all is the criteria.

The criteria are what make these students studying in high school work hard to get in to this university.

What are the criteria? Well, they are kind of funny and ridiculous at the same time. For those who are interested in joining this university, students need to pass the audition first before the EU, will issue you the **criteria list.**

Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself and the criteria list! I am Cagalli Yula Athha, second year student at EU.

As a newbie I suffered a lot having to deal with all these fan girls and cheerleaders roaming around. They give me goose bumps every time I hear them shouting or screaming from all the way down the hall. Their voices are so terrible that you can feel the hair on your arms stand up when you are a few kilometers away from them. Everyday I wonder how on earth did they managed to pass those auditions anyway. Maybe they used their beauty to persuade those judges into letting them pass the audition.

However, for me I am considered an **ugly duckling** because of my usual dress code and those reading glasses that I wear to Campus daily. Others find me weird with the exception of my best friends, Lacus, Miriallia, Shiho, and Stellar.

Oh my god! I just realized that I haven't shown you guys the criteria list yet! Sorry about that, I am quite a forgetful person.

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><p><strong>Criteria List (My Abridged Version. lol) :<strong>

1. Students **MUST** be punctual. If you are late, then you will be expelled. (Yeah, that's a load of bull shit. The fan girls are always late. The worst part is the fact that none of them get expelled! If they did, my life wouldn't be so terrible here in EU.)

2. Students **MUST NOT** have their own fan club or idol club. (*coughs* Meer, Flay and Meyrin.)

3. Casual dress is acceptable as long as it is not revealing. (HaHaHa, that's a laugh! Meer's outfits not revealing? Yeah right, and I'm the freakin' Queen of England!)

4. Examinations will be on a monthly basis, class tests on a weekly basis. These tests are non-negotiable, so no excuses need be made to get out of them. (I love this system.)

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><p>Well, that the criteria list. Laugh all you want, but I am serious about it. I wonder who came up with this idea anyway?<p>

Anyway, I think it's time to introduce my BFF, (Best Friend Forever) to you guys… Lacus Clyne. I consider her one of the smartest, most talented, beautiful, and kindest of people. She is always there and ready to lend a helping hand to her peers.

Then there's Miriallia Haww, a Natural just like me and my "**Chat-Pal**" in and after class who fills me in on things. She too is just as pretty as Lacus and I love her just as much. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you guys that her nickname is Milly! Another thing you would all be interested to know is that she is a very gifted photographer and would always be more than happy to help whenever any of us get struck on a project in photography class.

Now, I can't forget Shiho Hahnenfuss the artist in our group. She's very good at drawing and painting. She even won an award for one of her beautiful paintings! Her paintings are so beautiful that the school has asked her to represent the campus in the international competition several times.

Then we have Stellar Loussier, the quietest among us. Have you ever heard the phrase: "It's always the quiet ones who are the most dangerous?" Well, let's just say this phrase definitely applies here. You don't want to mess with her because once she's angry, she will kick your ass…and I mean kick it hard.

Lastly there's me, Cagalli Yula Athha. I consider myself an average looking girl with an average knowledge in everything as I always receive average scores on subject that I try my hardest in. I have a hard time coping with my studies, but I am fortunate enough in that I have friends to help me with them.

EU is indeed, a place for smart people. There is one guy in particular who is so smart that he a got distinction for every subject he takes and is the Ace Student of EU. His name is Athrun Zala. He is the son of Patrick Zala, and future heir of the Zala Company. Athrun's father has been nagging him for a bit now to find a wife, as his son is already at an age where he can marry.

Next in Athrun's group we have Kira Yamato, his long time childhood friend. A sweet and polite guy, Kira is totally the complete opposite of Athrun. Kira was the one that made me change my opinions about rich and spoiled brats like Athrun Zala. (_Cagalli never knew that she was Kira's long lost twin._)

Third in this group of handsome men was Dearka Elsman…green and yellow minded as described by Milly. Girls beware of him because you never know when you will be his next target. I heard that from Milly after an incident that had happened between the two of them.

Fourth in the group is Yzak Joule, physics expert as indicated by his last name because in physics, Joule is the S.I unit for energy.

Lastly in this group we have Shinn Asuka, the most talkative among their clique. He can and will talk non-stop for two consecutive hours. Those who don't know him might find him irritating, but if you truly get to know him; you will find that he is the kind of guy who's always there to lend a helping hand. On my first day at EU I ended up getting lost and he was the one that guided me to my classes for that whole week.

The fan girls have a nickname for this clique of handsome men, and they will shout: "**Look! It's the Fab 5!**" whenever these boys are spotted in the cafeteria. This annoys me a lot as I kind of find it hard to concentrate on my studies after school in the cafeteria with the fan girls screaming like mad cows in heat, wearing very revealing clothing, and crowding around them to show off their cleavage.

Dearka was the one that enjoyed this attention the most, followed by Athrun. You know how spoil brats behave.

"Dinnnnggggg!"

Oops! Gotta go! I'm late for my next period!

_With that, Cagalli dashed off to her next period class, which was located on the third level of the university_

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><p><strong>First edition<strong>: Year 2010

**Modified version:** 21/9/14

**[1]- **Fab 5- in short for Fabulous Boy~ nickname given by their avid fangirls. well, isn't this always the case? Korean drama shows it all and how Lee minho and his clique were well loved by their fans in Boy over Flowers.

Mel~ (^)

22/9/14

12.02AM


	2. Two is better than one

**A/N: **This chapter is credited to Hotaruzala, for this lovely piece of work^^ Just some slight changes from previous version. That's because my writing style has changed over the years.

**OF LOVE AND AFFECTION**

**Chapter Two: Two is better than one **

It was chemistry right after her short break and boy did Cagalli hate chemistry as she had no idea what was going on for the past few lessons that Miss Murrue had conducted for the class. She cursed under her breath as this was her sixth time being late for chemistry lessons. For Miss Murrue, students arriving late to her class are to be punished severely. This makes Cagalli hate her lessons even more.

"Alright class, today we will be doing an experiment on acid and bases and it's going to be a two person job, so I will partner you up with another classmate." Murrue explained to the class.

The fan girls were squealing like little girls begging for a lollipop as all of them wanted to be paired up with their idols, Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala.

"Athrun-san! I'll give you a hand!" Meer cheered flirtatiously as she began to sashay over to Athrun's side, while Fllay roughly shoved Lacus out of the way since she was blocking her from getting to Kira's side of the table.

"Kira darling, I would love it if I could be your partner!" Fllay's shrill voice filled the whole chem lab and left a few students covering their ears as if someone had just ran their nails across a blackboard.

"Athrun, help me please." Kira begged him as he couldn't stand anymore of the fan girl madness.

"I would love to help, but as you can see; I am in the same boat as you." Athrun whispered to his friend right before Meer reached him.

Just as the buxom, pink-haired girl was about to tug on Athrun's tie in some futile attempt to try and seduce him, Miss Murrue let out a roar that caused the fan girls to run frantically back to their original seats.

**"ENOUGH! I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED MY SENTENCE YET!"**

For the minute the class was silent. So silent that now the whole class was able to recognize that Cagalli had just entered the classroom late. A few students stared at her, while the fan girls were busy laughing at her as she earned a scolding from Miss Murrue.

"Very well then, Miss Athha you will serve your punishment later." Murrue told her as Cagalli walked back to her usual seat next to Miriallia at the back of the lab. Students who were placed in the back of the room were usually those who had no interest in chemistry whatsoever.

"Okay, like I said before. It's going to be a partner work, so I placed some random numbers in a box that way you get to work with someone you haven't worked with before for the day."

"If this turns out well, you will remain with the person you will be partnered with until the semester is over. Now, each of you will come to the front and grab a piece of paper from the box and return back to your seat.

Strictly **NO** exchanging of paper is allowed as it would compromise one of the points of this assignment." Murrue explained to the class as she grabbed the box from the table and held it in front of her for her students to reach inside and grab from it.

As usual, the fan girls were the first to grab their individual slips of paper from the box, followed by the guys, and lastly the rest of the girls in the class.

"Open the paper and shout out your number so that your partner can hear you." Murrue instructed them.

"2!" Fllay and Yuna shouted.

"5!" Kira and Lacus said together earning Lacus a glare from Fllay.

"1!" Cagalli and Athrun shouted in unison, which left Meer fuming mad and Meyrin feel like punching the blonde.

"3!" Meer and Meyrin shouted, both of them quite surprised that they got the lucky number 3.

"6." Shinn and Stellar echoed, all the while neither of them dared to look at each other.

"4!" Dearka and Miriallia shouted. Well, looks like lady-luck was absent from Milly's side this morning.

"7." Yzak and Shiho replied together. What interesting things will happen today when a physics expert works together with an artist?

"Ok class, now get your butts off the chairs and head to the table with your number on it!" Murrue shouted.

**"Damn it! Curse you Haumea and the wretched fate you have bestowed on me today! Why do I have to pair up with** **that damn Zala brat?**" Cagalli muttered under her breath as she slowly made her way towards their assigned table in the lab.

"Hey beautiful, I like your new bra. Red...I'm feelin' that." Dearka whispered in Miriallia's ear causing her to scream: "PREVERT!" and for that moment, Miriallia and Dearka got their time in the limelight, thus making it the students' hot topic in class for that whole week.

Fllay and Yuna. What a joke they were together as both parties disliked each other so much that everyone was wondering how these two would be able to cooperate with each other for this one singular hour of their lives. The two were so glaringly similar in every way, that it was no wonder they hated each other.

Now onto the** M&M's, and no not the chocolate, but Meer and Meyrin!** Both girls had only one common bond they shared and that was to make Athrun Zala theirs. Try to get those two to work together on anything else but that, and you have an all out war on your hands.

Shinn and Stellar, well they're considered the quiet and shy types, meaning both of them need time to get used to each other.

Kira and Lacus, **S&S (aka: Smart and Sweet)**. Lacus is strong in chemistry, while Kira was almost just as good, thus making them a prefect match made in heaven.

"Alright class five glass jars with number labels on them are placed in front of you and each of them is either an acid or a base. Your job is to find out whether the liquids in the jars are acids or bases. However, before we start this experiment; I would like Miss Athha to answer this question first. What is the definition a weak acid?" Murrue asked.

"Erm…" Cagalli was panicking as she did not have any idea what the hell her teacher was talking about let alone what had happened during the previous lesson since she hadn't yet had any time to study her notes.

Athrun, a small smirk on his face; decided this was an opportune time to make a fool out of her by whispering the wrong answer.

"Hey Athha, the answer is Magnesium Oxide."

"Erm…. Magnesium Oxide?" Cagalli answered causing the class to erupt in laughter. It was then she knew that she had been tricked again by the Zala beast.

"Magnesium Oxide? Well, Miss Athha, sorry to disappoint you, but that was the wrong answer, which means double punishment for you. Magnesium Oxide is an insoluble base, Miss Athha; I am asking for acids, not bases."

"I don't want to waste the class time by lecturing you again, so your punishment for today is to write the definition out 1000 times and hand it in to me tomorrow." Murrue explained to her before giving the correct answer to her."

"What have I done to offend you and why must you make it your daily mission to make a fool out of me?" Cagalli shouted at him.

"For your information, my dad owns part of this campus so I can do whatever the hell I want. Let me tell you a little secret… **the professors here do nothing for me. They always listen to what I have to say and value my opinion because if they don't, they're on the next shuttle outta here.**" Athrun whispered matter-of-factly to her before Miss Murrue asked them to start the experiment.

"You will be given 30 minutes to complete this task and then you must hand it in before the bell rings. Remember, it will be considered as part of your class test mark." Murrue explained.

Kira and Lacus put on their goggles and lab coats to protect their eyes and bodies since this is a basic requirement when you enter the chemistry lab. The same thing applies to the physics lab.

Kira was the one that did the experiment, while Lacus helped with the recording of the data.

"Lacus, I think jar number one is an acid as it turns blue litmus paper red, and the universal indicator has shown that it was red as well." Kira explained his reasoning to his pink-haired partner and she nodded in agreement.

Dearka and Miriallia on other hand were having difficulties in cooperating with one another. This was due to misunderstandings among them spanning from the incident that happened a few weeks before up until the mini incident that happened just a few minutes earlier.

"Hey beautiful, what's the matter? Are you mad at me?" Dearka asked her curiously as he now got a feeling that Miriallia was avoiding him when she shot him a nasty glare and whispered in an icy tone that sent shivers down his spine:

_"Mad at you? I feel like stabbing you with a knife."_

With that both of them knew that they are going to get grade U for this experiment.

Miss Murrue then began walking around the lab to check on her student's current progress as she marked it down in her student files notebook for this class.

However, Cagalli and Athrun were in the process of changing the classes perfect behavior record as the both of them could not stop arguing with each other about his reasons for making a fool out of her just a few moments ago.

"You're an ass, you know that? How come you can't act like a man for once and just be civil. Look at Kira! Seriously, why can't you follow his example and act like a gentleman instead of the low-life slime you actually are. A personality change would do you wonders. I suggest a full blown lobotomy."

Athrun's emerald eyes widened in disbelief as he couldn't believe someone actually had the nerve to speak to him this way.

This girl had just completely blindsided him with her comments, and that was a feeling he didn't like. He hissed in retort: **"Who the hell died and made you boss all of the sudden? You don't own me, you don't date me, and you're not my mother or father, so what gives you the right to compare me to him and order me around when you yourself are not even defined by your status in life, let alone know of what status you are!"**

"So what if I didn't have any social status worth bragging about. At least I'm not like you who go around acting all high and mighty, throwing around your father's name in order to blackmail people. You are nothing but a coward in my eyes…Athrun Zala." The fiery blonde retorted in the calmest and scariest of voices.

_**"Are you sure that you even are Athrun Zala? Maybe the hospital made an error when they made out your birth certificate and it should really say Athena Zala instead of Athrun Zala because you act like a spoiled little girl."**_

**"How dare you to insult me and my father in this manner!**" and just as Athrun was about to slap this loud-mouthed blonde girl across her face, Miss Murrue yelled: **"What to do think you're doing Mr. Zala? You will not lay a violent hand on any young lady in my class! Go the detention room straight away!"** Murrue pointed to the lab's exit door.

The fan-girls were now giving Cagalli their signature glares as she was the one that caused Athrun to blow a fuse and be sent to the detention room for 1 hour for a moment of meditation and self – reflection.

Cagalli threw the goggles off, causing them to land with a loud thud on the table, indicating her unhappiness and frustration at both the Zala beast and his loyal herd of sheep. She sighed heavily as she knew that sooner or later there was bound to be a confrontation between them.

_Thankfully the bell rang before anything could happen and thus, chemistry was over for the day. The class would now split in two as some of the students had chosen other subjects instead of physics to study._

Miriallia and Shiho said their goodbyes to their friend before they then headed to the fourth level to attend their own respective classes.

Cagalli was glad that chemistry was over and it was her free period since she had already decided that physics was a lost cause on her as she hated the subject to its very core.

In the meantime, Meyrin and Meer were off to the side discussing what kind of revenge they were going to take for their beloved Athrun as they secretly followed the agitated blonde down the hall.

_EU's detention room was unique in the way that there was no one around to supervise you, but instead a timer is placed in the room. _

_Students who are sent here are expected to show a sense of honesty and integrity by setting the timer to the time you are suppose to be in here and do your self – reflection or soul searching until time is up._

Athrun was starting to get bored as the detention room was definitely not the cup of tea for his personality and character.

He mumbled to himself: "There's still 30 minutes left. Damn it! What am I supposed to do now?"

The emerald-eyed coordinator let his mind wander for a moment, only to be driven insane as it kept replaying the scenes that had just occurred earlier between himself and Cagalli.

"Am I finally going insane? Or am I actually starting to fall in love with her?" Athrun wondered. He couldn't take it anymore.

The scenes of her arguing with him just kept replaying over in his head like some kind of twisted love story, making him so angry over what she had said and what he was now feeling; he abruptly stood up shouting and screaming hoping to dispel his sudden craving to see her again.

_In the meantime, down the hall; laughter can be heard from the physics lab as Professor Mu La Flaga was now conducting his class. Being the physics professor for the graduating classes, he was the only professor in his subject that actually had a degree to teach, while the others only merely knew how to absorb knowledge._

"What does A say to C?" Mu asked his class.

No one answered him, as they were not in a laughing mood and also because they knew that they usually all turned out corny as all hell.

"A said to C…I am shorter than you because ABCD." Mu laughed. **(To get the joke you need to know how to pronounce the letters in Chinese, I just translated it. lol)**

_Meanwhile, on the way to the girl's dorm…_

"Finally, some peace and quiet! I really hope that graduation night will arrive soon because I can't wait to leave this campus and start my own career." Cagalli exclaimed as she was in the middle of the walk back to her dorm.

She continued to mumble to herself in a frustrated tone: "The fan girls and their unwarranted glares. What on earth have I done to offend them? Why must I be the only one who takes the full brunt of the blame? That Athena was at fault too." It was here that she finally realized she had been standing in front of her dormitory now for 5 minutes, having not realized that due to her little silent tirade.

She sighed heavily at her absentmindedness, opened the large doors, and entered the building. The girl's dorms were located on the fifth level of the, ironically dubbed; Patrick Zala building; while the male students dorms were located on the sixth level of it as the school wanted a respectable distance between boys and girls in order to promote a healthy dormitory lifestyle.

If a casual observer ever were to walk into the spunky blonde's room, they would know instantly from the abundance of pink wallpaper with all the hearts on it.

That she shared it with her best friend Lacus Clyne. Miriallia , Shiho, and Stellar shared the same room as their room was much bigger then Cagalli's and Lacus's since with three people sharing the same room for at least a few years, there had to be a joint room so that nobody would have to be bed-less for the semester and have to sleep on the floor.

Meyrin and Meer got paired up together, as usual; which proved to be quite entertaining as both of them were "rivals in love" over Athrun Zala. On extremely entertaining and interesting days; one could hear them having screaming matches and even fighting over the tiniest of stupid little things. (e.g.: who get to use the toilet first, or who stole whose hair dryer.)

The goings on in the boys dorm was a complete mystery to the girls, but based on certain accounts relayed to them from casual and silent observer Shinn Asuka; Kira and Athrun shared the same room, which showed everyone who knew of Athrun Zala and his infamous temper tantrums; that Kira Yamato must have to be a saint to put up with all of it.

Shinn used to have Yuna as his buddy but after he found out that the mullet man was actually a thief and was stealing money from him; he requested an immediate room change and ended up sharing the same room with Dearka the pervert and Yzak the physics expert.

Cagalli pondered over and over all these dorm arrangements in her head for no apparent reason except to clear her mind of all thoughts of the "Zala Beast."

Just as the amber eyed Cagalli was about to reach her dorm, she felt two pairs of hands grabs her from behind, and pushed her into a isolated corner. Meer's hands were covering the blonde's mouth to prevent her from shouting to attract passers-by that were near the said isolated area.

"I will only remove my hand if you promise not to yell." Meer whispered to her as Cagalli nodded her head in agreement.

**"HELP ME!"** Cagalli took this chance and bite Meer's wrist, causing her to scream in pain.

**"After her!"** Meer screamed as Meyrin appeared and the both of them chasing her.

_Meanwhile, elsewhere on campus…_

Athrun's detention period had just finished and since he was exhausted already from the horrible events of the morning; he decided to skip his biology lesson and head to bed instead.

_Back in the girl's dorm…_

Cagalli was running as fast as she could to get help from her friends while several people in the hall she was racing down were cursing at her for bumping onto them. Never did she imagine that she would bump into her worst enemy, Athrun Zala.

"Watch where you're going idiot!" Athrun shouted irritated at the person who had just bumped into him. He brushed himself off and when he finally looked up; he noticed that the one who had just run into him was the girl who was the cause of his day's aggravation.

Cagalli felt the instant pain in her cleavage due to the impact of colliding with the emerald-eyed boy. She shouted angrily in response, her amber eyes almost on fire: **"I BELIEVE IT'S YOU WHO'RE THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SAYING THAT TO ME… ATHENA!"**

**"There she is!"** Meyrin shouted as Cagalli took this opportunity and hide behind Athrun.

"What have you gotten yourself into Athha?" Athrun asked as he shook his head. He could feel the girl's body shivering.

"I don't know! It's your fan club! Shouldn't you have some remote idea of what's going on?" Cagalli exclaimed in a hiss before the two catty girls in question arrived.

**"Cagalli Yula Athha! Show yourself right now! It's pointless to hide behind Athrun! We can still see you!"** Meer's voice practically echoed throughout the entire campus.

"Yo, catfight! Zala's right smack in the middle of it!" Dearka shouted from the physics lab which immediately caught professor Mu's attention as he was entering the men's room, but he simply sighed and shrugged it off as it was now an everyday occurrence.

"Teenagers nowadays…can't live with them, can't live without…on second thought maybe you can live without them." Mu joked as he shook his head with a chuckle while gazing into the bathroom mirror as he combed his long blonde hair.

In the meantime, students who took paparazzi as their extra curricular class were already gathering around the four to snap pictures of them, which would be their hot topic for the whole week.

After the pictures were circulating for a few days, the students would get to vote and bet on the girl that Athrun would ultimately choose and have the results in by the end of that week.

"Decide Athrun. Who are you going to help? Us who love you or this pathetic excuse for a girl who has no respect for you or your family?" Meer asked him impatiently as she tapped her stiletto-heeled clad feet.

"Well… I…." The blue-haired boy looked back and forth causing the great Athrun Zala to momentarily lose his ability to speak.

As he suddenly became aware that the reason he was hesitating was because he kind of wanted to help Cagalli even after what she had done to her earlier when she had called him names. He then finally found the nerve to speak, and when he did; nobody was expecting the answer he was about to give…not even himself.

"Meer…I've decided. I'll help…"

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><p><strong>First Edition:<strong> Year 2010

**Modified Edition: ** Year 2014

**[1]- **You got that right! Athena was originated from "**Tangled Cags**" before it's appearing in other fics, so yeah I do own it~

Mel~ (^^)

22/9/14

12.15AM


	3. Telepathy

**A/N: **Yes, I could still remember HotaruZala telling me this, start this chapter from Cagalli's POV :) I'm so glad that I had listened to her advises. Drop by her page and leave her your reviews!^^ just because we need to sign a petition to get Hotaruzala back on track! hehehe~

Thank you those who's been reading this till today, my silent readers too...hahaha Yup, this chapter to dedicated to whom ever is reading it!

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><p><strong>OF LOVE AND AFFECTION<strong>

**Chapter Three: Telepathy  
><strong>

_"I am so dead now. Athena is going to help his fan club. Oh god, please hear my prayer and let the tables turn on them somehow."_

"No way in hell am I helping you guys. Not in a million years." Athrun responded, his words dealing excessive damage to his own fan club.

"In what remote way did you guys think that I would actually waste my time helping you guys? You guys are not my cup of tea. Girls like you are only after my money and not my heart. Anyway, didn't the criteria list specifically say: **No fan clubs allowed**, or are you guys so seriously dumb that you didn't even bother to read it?"

"You just make use of my power to get what you want, but this is ridiculous. Take revenge for me over an innocent and helpless girl? I think you guys have gone too far."

"Athrun, I think you misunderstood the situation." Meer said as she danced towards Athrun's side.

However, before Meer could reach him, Athrun placed his hand in front of him indicating that he wanted her to keep her distance. With a deadly glare, he responded in an icy tone: "Get away from me you glorified Barbie doll."

The buxom pink-haired girl next to him's eyes widened in response as she then whispered frustratedly in his ear: "Athrun, what's the matter with you? If there's some kind of problem you have, we could have dinner together and chat about your unhappiness."

Athrun shook his head and replied in a calm, yet frighteningly soft tone: "Drop the act Meer, the whole campus knows that you're just a wannabe Lacus Clyne. Well, I've got a news flash for you, no matter how hard you try; you will never be her." With that Athrun pushed his annoyance to the ground and the paparazzi began snapping slews of pictures of her.

_"WOW, so Meer is actually a Lacus wannabe. To think that Athena…wait, hold on a second... did Athrun just betray his own fan club?"_ My inner mind was finally catching up to what was happening around me, and the reality of it all was rather frightening.

Meer's body was now shaking as this was her first time being pushed to the ground by Athrun. Now she didn't know where to hide her face as her dirty little secret had officially been revealed. She was indeed a Lacus wannabe using Lacus's image and popularity to make Athrun fall in love with her.

Meyrin just stood there, still considering whether to help Meer or not after what she did to her earlier that day when the girl had called her a bimbo.

A few thoughts ran through my head as I was now beginning to process everything that was happening: _**"WOW, I didn't know that Athena…I mean Athrun, would betray one of his own fan club members! To think that the high and mighty Athrun Zala would help me. Looks like he's not that bad after all."**_

Athrun continued in a stern tone: "I have to admit that I was a coward for letting you destroy Lacus's image. It shames me to think that I had a chance to stop you from doing it and didn't, but now this is the last straw and I've had enough of you. Meer Campbell, from now on you and I are total strangers. I want you to apologize to Miss Athha right now."

Meer's eyes widened in disbelief at all that was happening. She found the whole idea of apologizing to Cagalli ridiculous.

After all, she was her enemy and to apologize to an enemy was just not something she was about to do for Athrun, or anyone else. She stood up, wiped off the dirt off her skirt, and told Athrun that she not going to admit she was in the wrong.

With that, she dragged a reluctant Meyrin away from the place, while calling over her shoulder to Cagalli**: "This is not the end Athha! You win this round, but watch your back because round two is coming! "**

After M&M left the scene everything returned back to normal, as if nothing had even just happened.

_I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I thought to myself: "Thank god it's over now. Looks like I have no time to get the sleep I wanted since my next lesson is going to start soon._

_" My eyes then widened as I realized I was grasping someone's hand. My inner thoughts screamed: "OMFG! I'm holding Zala's hand! Oh dear god please don't let him realize that I am holding his hand! This is so embarrassing!"_

Athrun smiled slightly as he thought: _"What a warm sensation in my palms, so this was what Athha's hands felt like. Her hands feel so soft and warm just like my moms."_

"Jerk, let go of my hand!" I shouted.

"Excuse me? I should be the one saying that!" Athrun yelled as he snapped back into reality from his little daze.

"Why you..." I huffed as I broke free from Athrun's grip and gave him a taste of my famous right hook right to his cheek.

Athrun stumbled three paces back as a result of my intense punch to his face and just as he was about to shout, I was already out of sight.

"Interesting, she was the first girl that ever belted me. This interests me; yes it's very intriguing indeed." Athrun smiled as he stared after the irate blonde stalking down the hall.

I cursed loudly as I stomped out of the dorm heading for my math class: "Argh! Damn that Zala beast! Damn him straight to hell!" As I walked into the school building and into my math class, I muttered to myself: "MATH, MATH, MATH, math indeed makes people go mad.

I hope that I'm not in the same class as that ZALA again." I peeked in, scoured the room, and my face grew dark as I noticed him already standing in the back of the room as if he'd teleported here and my inner self screamed_: "For god sake! What's up with whacked out semester? _

_He's in the same classes as me for every subject I take! I don't know if this is supposed to be fate or torture?" _I noticed Athrun smirk at me and wave a little bit, causing me to pull my hair in frustration.

I quickly composed myself as the bell rang and entered the room just a minute after the bell rang.

Durandal was the name of our math professor and he was the most irritating professor I ever met in my whole life. He could repeat the same concept for the whole period without fail, and he had such a sharp eye that god help me if I attempted to take a nap in his class.

He would stop his explanation for a few second and lecture me non-stop. Instead, for today as I walked into the room, I thought: _"Gee, I wonder who the unlucky woman that married him is? How does she manage to live with him for even a second."_

"Miss Athha you are late again." Durandal said to me matter-of-factly. He then gave me a short lecture on punctuality and told me to take a seat so he could begin the lesson.

I was looking around the class for a vacant seat and spotted one in the back. Athrun was sitting in Shinn's seat as Shinn had informed the teacher that he was going to be missing the lesson for the day. With all the other seats taken, it looked like I was left with no choice but to share the same seat and table with that Zala beast for 1 hour.

"Hey there beautiful. Is this fate or what? Looks like you can't stand to be apart from me even for a second." Athrun teased in a phony flirty voice.

"Fate my ass. This is just a coincidence." I replied through gritted teeth as I averted my eyes to the board so as to not make eye contact with him.

Durandal then began today's lesson, which was teaching them a new concept on Algebra manipulation: "Alright Class, what you will get from this equation,** (7 x- 3y) (8X- 4y)**" he asked.

Kira raised his hand, stood up, and replied: "To get this answer you will need to use the rainbow method or the arrow method, which all of us should be familiar with by now. Applying those two methods to solve the problem, the answer should be **56x^2 – 52xy + 12y**." Kira explained to the class, earning praise from his professor.

"As expected from you , well done." Durandal gave him a thumbs up sign while the rest of the class clapped for him, with the exception of Athrun. His attention was currently being focused on the spunky blonde girl beside him, who's applauding for his friend Kira; seemed to be stirring up some jealousy in him for reasons he didn't quite understand.

He did not know if this was love or not, as it was kind of weird that he felt jealous because Cagalli was clapping for his friend. Kira was his best buddy without question, but this was his first time having feelings like these as he never experienced them in any of the other girls that came before Cagalli.

"I assume that everyone here knows how to solve this problem, but you guys are just shy, and that's fine, but please do not hesitate to raise your hand if you know the answer next time.

This class is considered one of the most brilliant minded classes I've ever taught in my whole life." Durandal then went off on a tangent and began telling his life story on how he became a professor and how he met the love of his life. Everyone in this class did not give one hoot about his love life, but nobody dared stop him mid-sentence to say that.

_"Oh Man, can this day get any worse? Firstly I got pushed around by a Zala fan girl but by some stroke of luck, Athena saved me; and now I need to listen to the life story of the most boring man on the face of the earth, which he repeats at least 10 times during the course of a week."_ I sighed heavily as my inner mind continued to rant about everything that was wrong with this school:

_"Damn it! What's wrong with all the professors on this campus? Looks like all the teacher's here, both coordinator and natural; were equally as weird. Miss Murrue, well she was pretty as far as outward appearances went. Mr. Mu, A.K.A: The Joker…well I gave up on physics long before I met this professor, but I still knew that he was a joker from the minute I first passed by his class where laughter and giggling could be heard from the path all the way down to my dorm. Lastly there was _

_Mr. Durandal, A.K.A: The Parrot's class; which is the hell I am still currently sitting in right now._

_I call him parrot because, like the actual bird; he tends to repeat what others have told him. He just kept on repeating things that I find so damn irritating that I just wish I could shove a cracker in his mouth and call it a day." _Suddenly I was jolted back into reality by the annoying Zala beast sitting next to me.

"Hey Athha, in 2 days it'll be Kira's birthday. Are you coming to his party this year? It's going to be a different from the last one. Kira's going to invite the whole campus to his mansion to celebrate with him including his fan club…he invited you as well." Athrun asked curiously with a small smirk on his face.

I decided it was best to just be civil with him for now, so I replied in a calm tone: "I don't know about that Zala. I've gotta check my schedule to make sure that I am free on that day, plus I need to write that definition on a weak acid 1000 times."

_Just as I finished my sentence, the bell rang and it was end of the period indicating that school was officially over for today. I shook my head and chuckled slightly as I knew the same old stale routines were going to go down before and after this party. Fan girls will be roaming around and making their appointments with the Fab 5, as always. Speak of the devils here they came._

_My table was now officially crowded by Athena's fan club, you know Meer and Meyrin._

_Meer was indeed a thick-skinned, possibly masochistic woman because not more than an hour ago, she'd been flung to the ground by Athena and now she was back again to ask him out on a date. This is what I am forced to face on a daily basis as it's kind of hard to squeeze out of any room when those bitches block your every path. _

_Worst case scenario with these girls is that they will push you to the ground and step over you, pretending that they never saw you. What makes me hate them the most is that they tend to to act like a rich man's daughter even though they were clearly not born with a silver spoon in their mouths._

"Hey Kira are you free now? There are some questions I need some help with. Do you mind tutoring me after school?" I heard Fllay ask in a low, sultry voice.

"Sure why not, shall we head to the cafeteria now?" Kira replied as both of them made their way out of the room and out of sight.

I saw Lacus's lovely sky blue eyes look very saddened. That struck a nerve in me because as a best friend I want to comfort her, but before I do that I need to do something to make my crappy day even slightly better.

I quick-stepped down the hallway until I caught up with Fllay and Kira. I smiled as I tapped the red-head on the shoulder: "Looks like the sun's rising from the west this morning Fllay Allster."

**"What's the matter with you Cagalli Yula ATHHA?"** Fllay asked loudly, looking at me as if I had three heads.

I address the girl with a slight sarcastic tone: "Do you mind stopping whatever you're doing or are about to do with Kira? I know it's hard for you to curb your hormonal urges even for a minute, but I think you can long enough for me to ask Kira something." I then directed my attention towards the violet eyed boy and asked, my tone serious:

"Do you know that you're hurting Lacus by doing this? How do you think she feels seeing you walk out of the room with another girl?" I then averted my icy stare back to Fllay and said to her: "I think maybe it's time you woke up and smelled the coffee. This is a love battle that you have already obviously lost."

Fllay returned my icy glare and replied with a slight smirk: "Don't dismiss me so quickly. I'm not so naïve that I can't see that Lacus Clyne has feelings for him. The whole school knows. Do you think she intimidates me? I don't consider her much of a rival, and I could really care less how she feels about this."

_I shook my head as I thought to myself: "So you finally admitted it Fllay. All those times you asked Kira to help you study were only to ensure that he would be with you all day and not get a chance to see or talk to Lacus."_

Kira's eyes widened at Fllay's statement about Lacus: "Lacus what? You mean Lacus has a feeling for me?"

_I heaved a heavy sigh and rolled my eyes in disbelief at how slow this boy could be when it came to girls. My inner self screamed: "Yeah you idiot even a blind man could see that she's in love with you! _

_Lacus knew that she had a crush on Kira since their first year of school here when she first saw him in the music room practicing piano._

_It's always hard for a girl to tell her crush that she really likes him because feelings are very fragile and nobody likes to be rejected by someone they really care about. So often times, nobody takes that leap, that huge risk that requires you to put your feelings right out there for everyone to see._

_Lacus only told us, her most trusted friends; that she had a crush on Kira, she never told Kira himself for fear that he might not share her feelings._

_She started having conversations with him the very same day she watched him the music room, they wound up having a lot of things in common, and he is such a gentleman that Lacus found out that it wasn't really just a crush, she was actually head over heels in love with him._

_I could actually see why girls would fall in love with Kira, but I still could not understand why any of them wanted to date that beast Zala._

Fllay jolted me from my thoughts by hissing: "What do you hope to accomplish by revealing anything I just said? Athha mark my words, this is not the end." With that and a final hair toss, the red head simply turned and walked away.

The only thing the class didn't know about this crush of Lacus's was that she had been hiding it from Kira for almost a year; it was brave of her to do that.

Girl's hearts are fragile things and one false move in a positive or negative direction could trigger emotions they didn't even know they had.

Lacus eyes met Kira's soulful ones briefly before she then ran out of the classroom with tears rolling down her cheeks. Causing Kira to immediately chase after her.

Athrun on other hand was busy making appointments with his fan club, Meyrin sitting on his lap to make Meer jealous.

He smirked like the play boy that he was and ushered Meyin off his lap as he said: "Alright ladies, that's all for today I have other things to attend to." He gave Meyrin a peck on the cheek and blew all the rest of them kisses before he left class and headed to the gym for daily training.

Since he and his group of handsome friends had been selected to take part in the annual sports competition on campus Athrun had made sure that Kira participated in this event this time because he needed Kira's ability to win this year's championship.

_**Meanwhile, down near the end of the hallway…**_

Kira knew that he owed Lacus an apology, but he needed to rush to the gym now if he didn't want the coach to get mad at him. He found himself unable to catch up to her but said softly under his breath: "Lacus, I'll talk to you later, I promise."

He then left to join Athrun and the rest of his friends at the school gym. MIU had a shortage of professors and coaches; the campus was left with no choice but to ask one of the professors to be in charge of the training for the Fab 5. Mu volunteered himself as no one else wanted to do it.

"Lacus, if Kira can't appreciate how awesome you are then it's his loss. You will always have all of us here to cheer you up." I linked arms with my friend and smiled reassuringly: "Come on, I need your help with my chemistry homework."

Lacus replied sweetly with a small smile and chuckle: "Thank you so much Cagalli, you're a great friend. I'll help you write out the weak acid definition punishment you got as well that way your hands won't cramp up from writing it 1,000 times."

I nodded my head as we walked towards the cafeteria and started our little homework adventure. Miriallia and Shiho would be at the art gallery since Shiho needed to get prepared for her final exam.

Miriallia's job would be supplying ideas for paintings and helping Shiho by watching over her work when she would take bathroom or lunch breaks. Many students on campus were jealous of her work and they would always make attempts to destroy it whenever they had a chance so that Shiho wouldn't have a chance to get a promotion.

We walked into the cafeteria and as expected, it was indeed noisy and crowded. The Fab 5 fan club girls were busy polishing their nails and styling their hair for the main event later…cheerleading. Most of them belonged to the squad so they could flaunt their bodies and show off their gymnastic skills to the Fab 5.

"Damn it, why can't the fan girls keep their mouths shut for even one second their lives?" I cursed under my breath.

Lacus placed her hand on my shoulder and said in a reassuring tone as we sat down and began writing: "It could always be worse Cagalli you know that. Come on, we need to hurry so we don't miss tonight's Fab 5 sports tournament."

* * *

><p><em><strong>In the meantime, over on the other side of the cafeteria…<strong>_

Meyrin was busy adjusting her uniform while Meer was hastily applying make–up to her face.

Fllay, the team captain; then burst into the room all decked out in uniform with her perfect hair and make-up and shouted to all the girls that they only had five more minutes to get ready: "You will have to do sixty jumping stars if you're late!" she shouted on her way outside. Of course, as expected; Meer and Meyrin were late arriving to the field for practice.

Meer hating doing jumping stars as she knew her fake breasts and ass would then be injured if she jumped too high.

Meyrin had come up with an excuse of having a fear of heights and said that if she had to be up that high that she would faint on spot, and indeed she fainted just to escape the punishment.

_In the meantime, Athrun and his friends were in the gym preparing for their big night._

Athrun was getting ready for their training before tonight's tournament with Emerald High, since according to coach Mu, Emerald High had a lot of star players. However, with Athrun and Kira's abilities the Fab 5 could be this school easily.

Because Emerald High was also notorious for having a lot of cowards on their team. This tournament will determine which school will win the championship trophy this year.

Athrun was doing his warm ups, while Kira was stretching his biceps. Dearka and Shinn were running the indoor track as they raced each other to see whose stamina was better, while Yzak volunteered to be their timer and recorder.

Mu came in with Murrue by his side and saw his students doing things that were irrelevant to tonight's important tournament.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? AM I WASTING MY TIME ON LADIES?" Mu's shouting voice filled the room.

Murrue was giggling as it was her first time seeing her husband so serious about something; usually this kind of behavior was so not his style.

Athrun apologized half-heartedly: "Sorry about that Mr. Mu, as you can see we were having our own mini training before the actual one began."

Mu shook his head and stated: "Athrun Zala, as the captain of this team you failed to show your commitment here by failing to take action and lead your teammates to the training area before I arrived to give you proper direction.

I told you before that we are facing Emerald High not Ruby High this time, and there will be a lot of star players out there tonight. We don't have anymore time to goof off. I would like this to be my last warning to all of you present in this room…is that clear?"

"Crystal clear sir." The Fab 5 saluted him in unison.

"Today's training will be on your physical stamina. I would like to see how you perform in different scenarios. Please be mentally prepared to get dirty." Mu told them earning a groan from Dearka.

"What? Getting dirty? I can't afford to get dirty sir my precious hair will cry in pain." Dearka whined as he ran a comb through his short blonde hair.

Mu shook his head and scoffed loudly with a small smirk: "Well, aren't you just a fragile little lady Elsman. Who cares about your hair? I sure as hell don't and neither do the guys on the Emerald High team! What matters the most is that we win this thing! Stop being such a sissy, priss boy and get to it!"

With that Dearka took several paces backward so he could hide behind a snickering Shinn.

Mu continued: "In each event there will be specific rules, another thing you need to prepare for that isn't mentioned in these rules is how we keep going if the weather is crappy.

Weather is the most important element in this tournament. You guys tend to be strong on sunny days, but when it comes to the rainy ones, well; you always seem to have trouble getting through things.

If your opponents are well trained to perform all types of treacherous weather, it means that they have the advantage. Never ever let your enemies find out about your weakness."

With that, the Fab 5 started their official training session while Mu and Murrue took a seat on the bench.

_**Meanwhile, back outside on the field…**_

Fllay and her squad were busy rehearsing tonight's cheerleading routine. She clapped her hands and shouted: "Alright ladies, take your positions!" With that, she hit the play button on her stereo and the upbeat dance music began. The girls then started their cheer:

**"Fab 5 in the house! We're gonna win this Game!"**

**"Fab 5 in the house! We're gonna win this Game!"**

The drum rolling began in the song, and just as they were about to shout the rest of their cheer, all of them looked up, their eyes widening as they dropped their pompoms and ran toward the field. They had all just spotted the Fab 5 having their training session with every guy shirtless.

Meyrin and Meer were pushing each other to get the best view of Athrun, while Fllay was squealing with delight when she saw how big and strong Kira's biceps looked.

_Their voices grated on my nerves as I was just about to finish writing my last chemistry punishment sentences and it cause me to accidentally rip up the paper with 250 sentences worth of the 1000 that I had taken practically forever to write._

_I've really had enough of their nonsense already_! _Just as I was about to confront to them, Lacus stopped me and told me to clam down that way another fight like the one Athrun rescued me from this morning didn't happen again. _

_Due to my incredible stubbornness though, I refused to listen to Lacus's words of advice and marched right up to the squawking girls instead. I heard Lacus heave a heavy sigh as she reluctantly decided to tag along in case something happened. I could hold it in no longer and growled: _"God damn it you cackling horde of bitches! Don't you ever freakin' shut up?

"What's wrong with you Athha? Didn't get enough attention from us earlier? That wasn't enough for you?"

"Well, since you want it that much we will give it to you now since nobody is around to save you this time." Meer calmly replied with a grin as she threw the first punch, that I quickly dodged.

I then felt Meyrin grab my reading glasses and toss them aside, which wasn't good because my vision wasn't so great and I had left my contacts back in my dorm room.

I surely wouldn't be able to dodge punches anymore if I couldn't see them, and Lacus quickly noticed that as I saw her start to take off towards the field to call for help from the Fab 5, but she was immediately stopped by Fllay.

"Going somewhere Clyne?" Fllay asked in a threatening tone.

"Please Fllay let me through." I heard Lacus beg as she knew that I couldn't hold on any longer with everyone beginning to ambush me.

The red head scoffed in the pink haired girl's direction: "Um…I don't think so."

"Trust me; you don't wanna start with me Fllay." Lacus warned her, her baby blue eyes turning icy, and her expression; ticked off.

Fllay teased, feigning fear of the soft spoken girl in front of her: "Oh, I'm so scared! Somebody help me! What're you going to do to me Clyne? Sing me a song and manipulate me into doing things like you do with all your crazy fans at this school?"

With that, Lacus could no longer control herself and let go, as I heard her give the haughty girl a violent slap to the face that sent her reeling backwards. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Lacus then take that opportunity to go dashing towards the side of the field the boys were practicing on.

In the meantime, I was getting screamed at by many different angry voices: "Cagalli, you will pay for what you did!" I heard Meer exclaim she managed to land a punch to my stomach so hard I could swear I coughed up some blood.

"Look at you Athha, you look so pathetic that no one; not even Athrun Zala will come to save you this time." Meyrin hissed as she gave me a slap to my face causing me to collapse to the ground.

"Nice one Meyrin." I heard Meer tell her friend before Fllay asked them to head back to their room for a break from what was supposed to be cheerleading practice that now seemed to have turned into a lynching.

_Over on the boy's side of the field…_

Just as Kira was about to pass the basketball to Athrun, he suddenly felt a pain in his heart as he collapsed on the ground, causing the rest of the Fab 5 to rush over to him.

"KIRA!" Athrun shouted worriedly as he went to help him up while Mu checked his pulse to make sure that he was going to be alright to play in the tournament tonight.

"Are you alright kiddo?" Mu asked concerned.

Just before Kira could answer, Lacus came running up shouting his name, causing the rest to stare in the direction he was now staring in: "Kira, Cagalli's in trouble!"

Upon hearing Cagalli's name, Athrun dropped his towel on the grass and rushed to where Lacus said the blonde was.

Athrun whispered under his breath: "Hang on Cagalli, I'm coming."

* * *

><p><strong>[1]- <strong>Hey, it's been four years ago since I wrote this... by now I would have forgotten most of the content so yeah...XD Meer's the cheer leading squad leader while Fllay her vice-leader, hmm... so let's assume that Meer too apathetic to care about her members and let Fllay does most of her jobs ie. leading the squad and coming out routines.

**First Edition:** Year 2010

**Modified Edition:** Year 2014

Mel~ (.^.^.)

22/9/14

12.29AM


	4. The Game- PART I

**A/N: **Trivia: this chapter itself took me a week or two to finished writing the whole soccer tournament out~ most of them were based on my creativity and inspiration as it visits me along the way. One of a kind tournament, when I do things I make sure it's original. hehe...

For those who had read this beforehand, yes feel free to refresh your brain by reading any chapters you like before the arrival of next installment!

**Claimers: **I do own my OC, Isabelle Mari Zala... Athrun's Cousin. Well, just imagine her as your typical coordinator girl with lilac orbs and auburn hair. She has a strong personality, a kind soul while her maturity level depends on who she is with. Yup, has a close relation with Patrick and Lenore Zala. Just because she's Athrun's only cousin? LOL

**Credits:** To my lovely mentor, **Hotaruzala... **The author of The Zala Files, and The Hotness Factor. Published Year 2007. Her link is on favorite author's tag.

* * *

><p><strong>OF LOVE AND AFFECTION<strong>

**Chapter Four: The Game- PART I**

**Athrun's POV**

_"Cagalli please be alright, if anything happens to you I swear I'll…hold on a second. Why do I even care about this stubborn girl with an attitude problem?" _

I scratched my head in disbelief. "_Is this what others call "love at first sight?" or "plain- concern" for an acquaintance?" _Thoughts ran through my mind like a bullet-train as this thought was hard for my brain to comprehend.

_"Is this Love?" I asked myself as I shook my head furiously and pulled my hair in frustration. "Ugh. This can't be right… I'm in love with her?" _I suddenly stopped debating on whether to help her or not, after all once bitten and twice shy.

"_What's the point of helping her when I'll still end up getting reamed out by her when, once again; I turn out to be the gallant knight coming to her rescue." _

This time I decided to let Kira be her knight instead as I noticed him run past me. Lacus was the one that broke my train of thought.

"Hurry, Athrun! Cagalli needs our help!" Lacus shouted as she tried to catch up with Kira.

_"I didn't know Lacus could run that fast!"_ I exclaimed to myself, amazed at the stamina of the always docile demeanor of the pink-haired songstress.

"_That'll teach me to judge a book by its cover."_ Athrun chuckled under his breath as he was way behind Lacus and Kira, both of them already at the spot where Cagalli had fallen to the ground nearly unconscious.

Kira carefully lifted up the battered blonde earning a groan from her which indicated to him that she needed immediate medical attention. Lacus took this chance to pick up Cagalli's glasses, which had been thrown a few meters away while Kira continued to attend to the wounded Cagalli.

Somehow, he could feel the same pain that Cagalli felt and never before now did he feel so close to to this girl. He suddenly had a lingering feeling that they had met before. That would explain this automatic bond to each other, this sudden connection, this sudden urge to protect her from everything bad in the world.

"Kira." Lacus tapped his shoulder gently and reminded him of Cagalli's current condition.

Kira nodded his head as they made their way to the infirmary, Athrun observing them from far behind.

**- Meanwhile at tournament practice…**

Mu stood up from the bench letting out a groan after noticing that some of his students had suddenly disappeared from the field and thought to himself.

_"How on earth are they going to win this tournament tonight with all the slacking off this team always does?"_ He turned to fellow teacher and wife Ms. Murrue and asked.

"Aren't they a little too humble?" Mu asked Murrue as she shook her head and responded with a slight chuckle.

"Don't drag me into this. This is your department."

She noticed him heave a heavy sigh and replied as she patted his shoulder supportively.

"Seriously, I think you're overreacting. I'm confident that we're going to win this match."

"If you say so." He managed a slight smile and then asked: "Why don't we pick up where we left off earlier?" he then winked at her causing Murrue to blush like a teenage girl confessing her love.

"You idiot." Murrue responded playfully punching Mu's chest as they moved to the back behind the benches to start their adventure…marking their students' work.

When it comes to marking works or exams papers, both parties will challenge each other to see who finishes first.

The loser's punishment is to be the winner's servant for 3 months. Each time without fail, Mu lost to his wife purposely. For some reason he found it fun to be her personal servant as sometimes he got to see his wife half-naked or even better…naked.

**- Back to the Fab 5 on the field…**

Shinn was dribbling the ball with Yzak as the goalkeeper and it looked like lady-luck wasn't on his side this time since when it was his turn to shoot the ball into the goalpost, it started to drizzle. Dearka couldn't stop laughing at Shinn's new drenched rat hairstyle.

"Cut it out, Blondie… I can't concentrate!" Shinn exclaimed as he shifted from left foot to right to distract Yzak.

"Dude I'm sorry, but your hair…it's hilarious! Athrun and Kira should be here to see this!" Dearka was laughing so hard now that he had to hold his stomach it was hurting so much.

Shinn decided to ignore the blonde and dismiss him as a distraction. He returned to focusing his attention on the ball and the goalpost, and with one swift kick the ball flew straight into the goal before Yzak could even blink.

"Wow that was so fast I didn't even see the ball coming at me!" Yzak exclaimed as if Shinn had made soccer history. "How did you manage that?" he asked the soaking wet Shinn.

"I just focused all my attention on the ball instead of Dearka." Shinn smiled as he brushed away a few strands of hair that were getting in his eyes.

"Anyway, good job! Time is almost up and we've got to get ready since the match is going to start soon." Yzak reminded them as they grabbed their stuff and left the field, heading back to their room to take a rest before the actual race started.

You could hear giggles and yelling as the Fab 3 made their way back to their room, their damp shirts making their bodies look hotter than usual.

The smiles on their faces could melt the hearts of all of the female campers and cheerleaders nearby would be blowing kisses to them as a sign of encouragement.

At this time all of the cheerleaders were dressed up for the event later, with pom-poms in hand; and donning their cheerleading costumes, which were pink and white. They also each wore their hair pulled up into a high-pony tail as they make their way to the stadium to start their last practice before the big event.

"Girls, get ready we're going to start right now!" Meer shouted as she was arranging their position in the line-up. With her outstanding costume, she would be in the limelight since none of the other girls had the guts to wear a uniform as revealing as she had crafted hers.

Her top covered one quarter of her cleavage and her short skirt went slightly above her knee cap. Guys would undoubtedly die without any regrets if she ever asked them out for a date in that outfit.

As for the girl's...well they'll ask her for some beauty tips and ask her to reveal all her secrets on how to seduce a man. If the person happened to be her love rival… they'd love her outfit but hate her to death.

If someone was her enemy, they'd probably think that she was a disgrace to all women in the universe with that revealing uniform. These were the quiet Stellar's thoughts as her friend Isabelle and she arrived a few minutes ago and she shook her head in disgust.

The reason they were there early was to book the best spot in the spectator area for the match later on as their friends were busy with their own projects.

Fllay was standing right behind Meyrin due to their difference in height. As much as Fllay wished to be in the front row so that she could get a good view of Kira she couldn't due to Meyrin, as she was standing in the best viewing position.

Everyone knew that the gray eyed beauty wasn't going to take this laying down and it was apparent that everyone was cooperating with Meer except those two girls.

They were clucking and squawking over a spot in the line-up, which was probably the most ridiculous sight that ever took place in EU's school history.

"So, do we have a deal, Meyrin?" Fllay asked again frustrated as she was getting ready to hit Meyrin with her pom-poms.

"Why should I give up my spot to you so that you could see your beloved Kira-kun? I need to see my Athrun-san, and look at your … body" Meyrin eyed her

."No wonder, Kira doesn't even bother with you…you don't have an hour-glassed figure like mine and your boobs are non-existent. In other words, you're as flat as an airport run-way." Meyrin declared with a satisfied smirk.

"Oh yeah, and what about you little red riding hood? Geez, you aren't that pretty anyway and your body isn't even flexible! "

"What possessed you to even join the cheerleading squad in the first place if you don't even have what it takes to be a cheerleader?" Fllay smirked as her shrill laughter could be heard.

What Fllay said was true, Meyrin didn't have the skills and her body wasn't nearly as flexible as the others, which was the first requirement of the cheerleading.

A girl needed to have a flexible body so that she could do lots of stunts to impress the crowd and potential scouts that could show up at the event at any given time.

"Oh girl, I really pity you." Fllay continued in her shrill tone: "You're one hard working girl.

Working hard to please Meer by being her bitch you still can't get promoted to vice-captain of the squad. I know the reason…it's because you can't even do one simple back-handspring."

"That's enough Fllay! Two can play at this game too you know!" Meyrin shouted before she started pulling Fllay by the pony-tail and this causing her to fall to the ground with a loud **thud**.

The **"Thud"** sound caught Meer's attention as she had been so engrossed in arranging the girls' positions that she failed to realize that two of them were now having a cat fight in public.

"What are you guys doing?" Meer hissed in an aggravated whisper as she placed her hands on her hips and made her way towards them.

"Fllay's the one that started it." Meyrin whined.

"If you had agreed to my deal, then we wouldn't have had a problem." Fllay added as she stood up from the ground and stretched her leg out, suddenly giving Meyrin a sharp kick to her shins; which caused the girl to stumble three steps back and fall off the platform.

Meyrin 's fall timing could not have been anymore unlucky since it caused her to land right in front of the Fab 3, her ass facing them and revealing her black underwear. Dearka smirked at the sight as if lady-luck was on his side that day since he had earlier that day seen Miriallia in a bikini and now Meyrin's panties on top of that?

It was a joyous day for him indeed. As gentleman Dearka helped her up, she brushed off the dirt that stained her pink and white striped top only to have him greet her with a chuckle and a wink as he responded: "Love the color of your panties."

Meyrin felt like pulling out her hair she was so angry and embarrassed at the fact that Dearka was the one who saw her special underwear that had purposely wore to flash Athrun when she doing her cheerleading moves later.

"Ugh… Dearka, fine I'm so unlucky today." Meyrin ignored his comment as she made her way back to the squad and earning a scold from Meer while the others laughed at her misfortune.

"Maybe, you should just do yourself and your body a favor and quit the squad." Fllay suggested as she pointed to Meyrin's white skirt, which was torn due to fall and now revealed part of her creamy leg.

"ENOUGH!" "Fllay, get back to your original position while Meyrin takes the front spot! No more arguments until after the match! I swear if I hear one more word from either of you, the both of you will be kicked off the squad. Do I make myself clear?" Meer yelled.

"Understood." The girls replied in unison in an embarrassed tone.

"Alright, let's start our last practice before the match." Meer responded as she walked towards the radio and pressed the start button. They then started moving their pom-poms and gyrating their bodies to the rhythm of the pulsating music.

"1, 2, 3!" Meer was the one leading them as she shouted and waved her pom-poms in the all began to cheer:

* * *

><p><strong>"Together we stand; together we fall, all for one and one for all!<strong>

**Sometimes there is no next time, no second chance.**

**This is it. It's now or never!**

**What you see is what you get!,**

**and you ain't seen nothin' yet!**

**Hands on your hips!,**

**a smile on your lips!,**

**spirit in your heart, we're ready to start!"**

**"You might be good at basketball!"**

**"You might be good at track!"**

**"But when it comes to football!"**

**"You might as well step back!"**

**"Might as well step back!"**

**"Say what?"**

**"You might as well step back!"**

**"Can't hear you!"**

**"Might as well step back!"**

* * *

><p><strong>"Go Fab 5!" <strong>and they ended this cheer with Meer, Fllay, and two other girls in the line-up doing back-handsprings and landing in perfect splits.

**"WHO'S GONNA WIN THIS GAME TONIGHT?"** Fllay's job was to shout this phrase after they were done with the cheering.

**"FAB 5! Yeah!"** and with that, they all jumped high in the air and waved their pom-poms.

As their cheerleading caught the attention of the audience in the spectators area, all eyes were on them; especially Meer because when she jumped in her tight uniform she had a lot of "bounce."

The majority of the population of boys on the campus went wild because her boobs were nearly popping out of her top as she jumped.

"Good Job! Girls… take a rest first; remember our goal is to beat Emerald High's Cheerleaders." Meer reminded them since this was their campus and it would be a disgrace to EU if they weren't the loudest tonight.

"No worries, Captain… We're going to give it our best shot." Meyrin replied as she extended her hands out and the others followed her.

**"ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE!"** They shouted as they released their hands at the same time jumping in excitement.

"Hey Yzak, have you seen Kira or Athrun? It's almost time for the match to start." Shinn scanned the whole field for Athrun or Kira.

"Yeah, they were rushing off after hearing something happened to Cagalli and never returned after that." Yzak said as his eyes were looking out for Shiho because she promised him that she'd be here to support him.

"Alright, that means they must still be in the infirmary. Thanks! I'll go get them." Shinn replied to them as he left the field and rushed towards the infirmary.

**- Meanwhile in the infirmary…**

Cagalli was laying on the bed right after the doctor was done examining her. Her body was fragile and her face pale.

The doctor had told Kira that she needed to rest for the time being so that her body could recover from the trauma it received. He then handed Kira a note to her teachers that stated that she was to be on bed rest for a two days. It was a sign of relief for Kira after hearing that Cagalli was alright. They thanked the doctor before she left the room.

"She's going to be alright Kira. You heard the doctor, and besides…she's a strong girl." Lacus whispered into his ear reassuringly.

"I know that she's fine, but there's something else…. about her." Kira responded softly.

"What about her?" Lacus's face saddened when she noticed how Kira was looking at Cagalli with so much concern in his eyes. Tears almost rolled down her cheeks but she successfully managed to hold them back.

"Telepathy, Lacus. It just seems like there was some kind of communication between our minds and every time she gets hurt, I feel the same pain, only twice as worse. Telepathy doesn't exist right?" Kira questioned her.

"I'm sorry Kira, but I never experienced it before." Lacus apologized and just as she was about to leave this room, Kira grabbed her waist in time to stop her from proceeding any further.

"Lacus, please don't leave me now…I need you." Kira whispered softly in her ear.

"Ki…ra, I'm sorry but you already have Cagalli and Fllay… I should just leave." Lacus added as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What?" Kira was caught by surprise. What was Lacus talking about? "Lacus, I think you're misunderstanding something.

Fllay's just a fan-girl of mine who goes around gossiping to her friends that I'm her boyfriend, when in reality I've turned her away quite a few times. She just has a hard time accepting the fact that I'm not in love with her, which seems to have thrust her into some kind of denial.

As for Cagalli, she's more of a sister to me then a lover. My heart…only belongs to you…Lacus." Kira blushed while confessing his love to Lacus with Athrun as their witness.

"Kira." Lacus responded softly as her baby-blue eyes faced Kira's violet ones.

Kira took this chance by pulling her closer to his body and slowly leaned in for a kiss, time seeming to have stopped for them as Athrun, hiding near the window; was enjoying the show.

Just as their lips were practically touching, in burst Shinn to interrupt this blissful moment.

"ATHRUN, KIRA… WE NEED THE BOTH OF YOU AT THE FIELD RIGHT NOW, THE GAME IS STARTING SOON!" Shinn exclaimed hurriedly.

Kira and Lacus broke away from each other at the sudden interruption.

"Athrun's here?" Kira asked Lacus as he looked around and noticed Lacus blush even harder because Athrun was merely a few feet away from them with a small smirk on his face.

"Erm… Sorry to interrupt your moment. But I'd really need to borrow Kira." Shinn came in and dragged Kira out of the infirmary."

Kira he paused for a moment as he was worried about leaving Cagalli behind in her injured state.

Lacus assured him that once Cagalli awakened she would make sure that he'd be the first to know about it. With that Kira nodded his head and left the room with Athrun behind him, teasing him all the way down the hallway.

"How much did you see back there?" Kira asked him suspisciously, his face slightly flushed in embarrassment.

"How much did I see? Well, let me just say… Kira- kun, I love you too. I always dreamed of the day when you'd take me in your arms.

Oh kiss me Kira! " Athrun teased him in a girly voice and then gave his friend a flirty wink which then caused the both of them to look awkwardly at each other, goosebumps forming on their arms.

"Stop it Athrun, you're freaking me out." Kira responded shaking his head.

"If I were you, I'd get this on camera so that your rabid fan-club stops pestering you. They might really think that you're into boys after seeing this." Shinn suggested with a chuckle.

"I shall take that as a compliment. Thanks! You know, if you're jealous I'll give you so love too Shinn-kun." Athrun went to hug him from behind, which caused Shinn to jump a foot in the air.

"Cut it out Athrun! You're freaking me out now too!" Shinn shouted getting all red in the face.

"Relax Shinn, I'm just teasing you. Look at it this way, if I did swing that way then I wouldn't have these feelings for Cagalli." Athrun replied matter-of-factly as his two friends gasped in unison.

"OH MY GOD! You love that tom-boy? Tell me you're joking!" Shinn exclaimed as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Watch it Shinn. Cagalli isn't a tom-boy, she's perfect in my eyes." Athrun responded, his tone serious.

"Oh I get it… someone's in love! Athrun's got a girlfriend!..." It was now Shinn's turn to tease Athrun. "A super secret girlfriend!" Shinn continued shouting down the hallway, which caught the attention on his fan club as they were only a few meters away from the field.

"Shinn, we can tease Athrun later on. We have a game to play." Kira added as he figured somebody had to stop this madness.

"LADIES, HURRY UP!" Mu was tapping his leg as time was running out for them and neither of them had changed into their jerseys yet.

To make matters worse, Emerald High was already out on the field doing their warm up exercises as their cheerleaders began cheering for them.

"Come on guys!" Athrun called. As the captain of the soccer team, he set a good example by grabbing his jersey from Mu and rushing to the nearest restroom to get changed, his other friends following him.

Now Mu could only pray for victory as his rival coach gave him a smirk and flashed him the "loser" finger gesture on the other end of the field. It was a long story on how the two became rivals, but rumor has it that it was all because of Murrue.

The atmosphere in the field became intense when Emerald High's soccer team members were showing off their biceps and the ladies almost fainted at the sight. What irritated Mu the most was the EU was supporting EH instead of their own Campus team.

"They were ladies indeed." Mu sighed; seconds turned into minutes…soon the bleachers were filled up. Stellar, Isabelle, Miriallia, and Shiho were seated right in the middle with pop-corn in their hands and cups of soda by their sides. They were wearing EU jerseys and waving their flags to show their support.

"What's brings you here, Isabelle?" Miriallia asked as it had been almost a year since they last saw each other.

"To show my support to my dear cousin Athrun. I didn't want to miss his first match this year. Besides, my airplane ticket was paid for by Aunt Lenore and Uncle Patrick." Isabelle clapped her hands while munching on the caramel pop-corn that she'd bought earlier.

"Wow, you're so lucky to have them as your Aunt and Uncle. I'm so jealous of you." Miriallia pouted.

"Jealous ne? Go find yourself a rich boyfriend like Dearka- san." Isabelle giggled.

"No way, not in a billion years… he's nothing but a giant perv. You should beware of him Isabelle especially when you're wearing what you're wearing right now. "

"He calls this easy access." Milly warned her as Isabelle's outfit was way too revealing. She wore a transparent white top which showed the color of the bra she was wearing, and a black denim mini skirt.

"Chill Milly, you're just overreacting. Besides, what could happen to me when Athrun won't let any guys near me? By the way, Dearka-san is a nice guy. I think you should get to know him better, clear up any misunderstandings you may have with each other. Right Stellar?...Shiho?"

"Yeah, Isabelle's right. Come on Milly give him a chance." Shiho patted her shoulder. While Stellar nodded her head and smiled sweetly.

"Where are Lacus and Cagalli?" Isabelle asked them as there were no sign of them and the match was about to start.

"They're in the infirmary." Shiho replied.

"Oh my gosh, are they alright? What happened?" Isabelle demanded an answer as she was now worried about them.

"Don't worry. Lacus just messaged me that Cagalli just needs a lot of rest and they were going to be late to the match. She asked us to watch the first half without them."

"Aww, It's no fun without Cagalli and Lacus here. I'm gonna miss their voices and laughter during the first half." Isabelle spoke before the Fab 5 entered the field with coach Mu, the cheerleaders doing their job by screaming and yelling their house team's name. While Emerald High's cheers weren't that bad either.

"Girls, let's show EU who's the best!" Valentina, the captain of Emerald High's cheer squad shouted as she waved her pom-poms, gathering all of her team members to form a quad and start their routine.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, You *Emeralds* fans,<strong>

**Stand up and clap your hands!**

**Go *Emeralds* Go,**

**Go *Emeralds* Go!**

**Hey, You *Emeralds* Fans**

**Let's see you wave your hands!**

**Go *Emeralds* Go, Go *Emeralds* Go!**

**Go *Emeralds* Go, Go *Emeralds* Go!**

* * *

><p>*The Emerald cheerleaders then did a trick with bows and arrows to impress the crowd.*<p>

That was the last cheer before the start of the match as the announcer spoke through and microphone and reported the latest new updates on both teams.

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, to EU's 126th annual sports championship! I'm Jackson and I'll be your announcer for the day and this is my co-announcer Kristine. Say hi, Kristine."

"Well, thank you Jackson! Greeting Campers! I guess that all of you are excited about tonight's match! Who's going to win? Well, we won't know that until the end of the match, so sit back and relax because the match is about to begin!"

"The EU's Fab 5 will be on the right side of the field, while Emerald High will be on the left. Each team consists of 5 members. From the Fab 5, we have the captain Athrun Zala, vice- captain Kira Yamato, Shinn Asuka, Dearka Elsman, Yzak Joule, and their coach Mu La Flaga!" Kristine shouted in a peppy tone from the announcer's booth.

"Now, for the Emerald High team we have Rau the captain, Durandal the vice- captain, Miguel, Ahmed, Rey. Wow! They're fierce. And let me present to you their coach, Djibril." Jackson said before the referee walked towards the center of the field and told them the rules of this game.

Team members found breaking these rules would be disqualified. They nodded their heads and it was then time to draw lot to see which team would start first. The captain of each team picked a piece of paper from the referee's palm and shouted out their number to let their opponent know whether or not they were starting first.

"1!" Rau yelled, which meant Emerald High was first.

"Let the game begin!" the referee shouted before blowing his whistle, which caused the timer on the scoreboard to start counting down the minutes of the game.

"Spread out guys! Yzak you will be the goalie for the first half, Kira your opponent will be Miguel, Shinn yours will be Durandal, Dearka… Rey, and Ahmed will be mine." Athrun informed them as they took the field.

"What should we do captain? They look stronger than before." Durandal asked as he was hinting to Rau that he didn't want to be in the front line.

"Easy, just distract them and we'll catch them by surprise." Rau signaled his team members to gather around him and he started briefing them on what to do later.

"You guys, got your salt and pepper ready?" Rau asked them before his ended the briefing later.

"Yes, alright then. Let's do it guys."

"Ahmed yours!" Rey yelled as he used all the strength he had to kick the ball flew right towards his teammate.

"Gotcha." However, before Ahmed could pass the ball to Durandal, Athrun intercepted the pass and dibbled the ball to Kira, Shinn backing him up.

"Damn it, we missed it!" Rau cursed. His hope was now on their goalkeeper Miguel.

"KIRA, SHOOT IT STRAIGHT TO INTO THEIR GOAL!" Athrun yelled as it was the best chance for Kira since the rest of the Emerald High team didn't seem to realize that there was no one defending their goal.

"Got it." Kira responded as he then paused, moved two steps back, and then gave kick the ball a hard kick. The speed of the ball was so blindingly fast that Miguel failed to realize that Kira had even scored a goal until he saw the EU's audience cheer excitedly.

"GOAL!" The referee blew his whistle as the whole campus then stood up from their seats and did the wave.

"You Did It, Fab 5!" the cheerleaders shouted as they then did a scorpion stunt.

"Woo! Go Fab 5!" the girls were cheered for them both physically and mentally. With Isabelle busying herself by taking pictures of Athrun's every move, capturing his determination during this match.

***Snap***

"Hmm, the quality of the picture will be better if you remove the flash." Milly informed her.

"As expected from a photography expert." Isabelle replied with a grin.

"It's nothing really, just a basic rule of photography." Miriallia replied with a chuckle.

"I think I'd better pass this to you, if not Aunt Lenore and Uncle Patrick will have a hard time looking at the pictures of their son giving his all out on the field." Isabelle smiled at her before she passed the camera to Miriallia.

"Well, you can count on me." Milly winked at her.

"Look at Shinn. He seems to be the next one in the spotlight." Stellar pointed to Shinn, whom was having a battle with Durandal. Shinn had the ball under his feet and all Durandal seemed to be doing was standing in front of him and waving his arms around to block Shinn's view.

With this kind of distraction, it was hard for Shinn to see what was in front of him. Luckily their team's jersey was bright red compared to EH's dull brown one.

With Ahmed on his left and Rau on his right, it was nearly impossible for him to pass the ball to Dearka who was standing directly behind Durandal. Shinn was stuck, he didn't know what is his next move should be and just as he was about to give up, he saw a gap in between Durandal's legs and an idea struck him.

"Dearka, the ball is yours!" Shinn alerted him first before he slid the ball between the opening between Durandal's legs and smoothly passed it to Dearka. His action caught everyone by surprise.

"Got it." Dearka chuckled while Athrun gave them a thumbs up.

"Where do you think you're going, loser?" Ahmed was defending their goal this time.

"Loser? Are you sure about that, Blackie?" Dearka responded with a confident smirk.

"Blackie? Damn you, I'll make sure you pay for that!" Ahmed shouted in disgust.

"Oh, did I hurt your ego? Oopsie. Now, which direction should I go? left or right?" As Dearka mumbled under his breath as he was moving his body in both directions with Ahmed's eyes watching each and every move he was making. "Didn't your mama ever tell you that it's rude to stare?" the blonde chuckled at Ahmed.

"Stop changing the subject, Blondie! It still won't change the fact that I'm not going to let you past unless a miracle appears!"

"Miracle, I like the sound of that. Well, sorry to disappoint you Blackie, but you're going to lose. Athrun, it's yours." Dearka turned his body 45 degrees to his right and passed the ball to Athrun, who caught it perfectly in the air and gave it a double back flip kick straight into the goal at a speed just as fast as Kira's.

"GOAL!" The referee blew his whistle again as the students of EU went mad and did silly things like pouring bottles of cold water on their bodies and jeering at Emerald High.

"Did you guys see it? Athrun just did a double back flip kick!" Isabelle exclaimed as she jumped up and down in excitement. She never knew that her cousin was this good since based on her experience, Athrun wasn't that good at any of these stunts before he decided to start putting in the effort to learn them.

"Chill, Belle this isn't like you at all. You act like it was your first time seeing Athrun do something like this." Shiho teased her.

"You're right, but I'm still shocked that Athrun didn't tell me that he had all this hidden talent." Isabelle replied with a chuckle.

"Maybe he did tell you, but you didn't manage to catch it." Stellar added as the girls laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>- 1 hour later in the Infirmary…<strong>

**Cagalli's POV**

_"Ugh… what's that light doing in the middle of nowhere? Hold on a second. I'm not in my room. Where the hell am I_? As I asked myself this silly question, a flashback came to me in bits and pieces. _Infirmary? _That was my guess and the sound of the monitor confirmed it. The moment I sat up from the bed the pain hit me instantly. "Ouch, it's hurts!" I groaned.

"Cagalli, be careful. You shouldn't be out bed. The doctor said that you're too weak. You need to rest." Lacus replied as she rushed to her friend's side to help her up.

"I'm fine Lacus. Look at me; I'm as strong as an ox. Why am I in the infirmary?" Cagalli asked her as she stared at the clock hanging on the wall that showed 8:50 p.m.

"Meer punched you in your stomach and you kind of went unconscious after that. My mind was blank at the moment and I didn't know what to do, so I ended seeking help from Kira, but Athrun was the one that chased after me after hearing that you were in trouble. Kira was the one that carried you here from the cafeteria all the way to the infirmary though, not Athrun."

"Oh." I responded, slightly shocked at the thought that Athrun had been concerned about me even a little bit.

"Do you have any energy left?" Lacus asked in a concerned tone.

"I think so." I replied with a slight smile as I tried to sit up a little more.

"Alright, then let's make our way to the station since it's almost time for the second-half of the game. Come on! The girls are waiting for us." Lacus smiled at me as she helped me out of the bed slowly so as not to further aggravate my injuries. "Cagalli, if you can't make it, stop forcing yourself.

I'm sure they will understand if we tell them we can't make it, after all; they are reasonable." Lacus answered as she was obviously worried about how hard I seemed to be pushing myself.

"It's okay, Lacus I can still walk." I joked, which earned a small chuckle and a nod from my pink-haired friend.

**- Back at the Stadium with the Fab 5…(Normal POV)**

Rey was currently in a match with Athrun and Kira as both of them were defending their goal. Rau, who was not far away from Rey; signaled to him to use their secret weapon to distract the ace players by releasing pepper into the air.

The wind blew at just the right time and the moment Rey opened the cap, the scent of the pepper's powder lingered in the air. Kira was very sensitive to the smell of pepper, so the minute he got a good whiff of it, he began to sneeze continuously.

**"A-Choooo!"**

Athrun shifted his attention to Kira instead of the ball right in front of him. Rey used this chance to kick the ball lightly into the goal before Yzak could even block it.

"I'm fine, Athrun. You shouldn't worry about me, the ball is more impor-" Before Kira could finish his sentence the referee shouted "GOAL!" and time was up for the first –half of the match. EH's cheerleaders cheered for their team's first goal since the start of the match. The members standing on the field were blowing kisses to the cheerleaders for thanking them for their hard-work.

"Damn it. I underestimated them. I was too careless." Athrun punched the benches as he blamed himself for not paying more attention to Rey earlier.

"Don't give up hope yet ladies! So far, so good. We're ahead by 1 point." Mu smiled and gave them a thumbs up.

"Coach Mu's, right Athrun. Nobody's blaming you." He patted Athrun on the shoulder reassuringly and then turned to Kira and asked as he smelled something fishy: "Oh yeah, by the way; what caused you to sneeze like that so suddenly?"

"Pepper, I'm allergic to it." Kira added as he was busy spraying his nose to stop the itching.

"Strange. Why would there be a pepper smell wafting out in the middle of nowhere unless…" Shinn's eyes wandered suspiciously over to the Emerald High team.

"Wasn't that an intense battle, Kristen?"

"Yes, and look at their score! It's only a one point difference! So Jackson, who do you think will be victorious today?"

"Hmm… Emerald High … NOT!" Jackson responded with loud laugh.

"Wow! That's was hilarious! Anyway ladies and gentlemen, here's the latest news updates for both teams. The score is 2-1. Good job FAB 5!"

"Give them a round of applause! The cheerleaders are readying themselves for their next performance before the second-half of the match. Let's put the spotlight on them for our quick half-time show. Pop some pop-corn and enjoy!"

Meer walked towards the center of the platform and bowed to the audience before she started doing her needle stunt, while the rest were doing one-legged stunts. The show got intense due to Meer's bending lower and lower revealing her fully-gown cleavage as the opposite team began wolf-whistling at her.

"Yo Athrun, Meer's boobs aren't bad to look at. No wonder the guys from the opposite side keep whistling at her." Dearka said with a smirk as he smacked his friend's shoulder.

"You want her? I'll give her to you free of charge. Not sure if she's still a virgin though." Athrun spoke matter-of-factly.

"No thanks! Seeing her flounce around like that makes me lose my appetite. Miriallia is 100 times prettier and sexier than her." Dearka replied with a grin.

"You really do have a thing for her." Athrun replied slightly surprised at this.

"Geez Athrun, you're slower than I thought." Dearka chuckled as he shook his head.

"Not my fault my friend. I own a fan club and I have to memorize daily which girl to date tomorrow and the day after that. It's exhausting and troublesome." Athrun heaved a heavy, tired sigh at the thought of having to deal with all the fan club drama.

"Aren't you going to spend your time with your hot cousin?" Dearka asked curiously as he pointed to the bleachers where Isabelle was sitting.

"Hot cousin? I warn you Dearka, you make one move on her and I'll make sure that you won't live to celebrate father's day." Athrun spoke before W-I-T-C-H started their performance.

"Bravo, that's was the best performance I ever seen form our cheerleaders especially Meer, up next the W-I-T-C-H… let's give them a round of applause!" Kristen shouted.

Valentina, pressed the start button as it started playing the song "Toxic" by Britney Spears. The W-I-T-C-H grabbed their pom-poms from the ground and started jumping as they moved their arms in and out five times before switching positions with other members.

The cycle continued until Valentina gave them a signal to the rest of the W-I-T-C-H's to bend their bodies down, move their left legs out, and give their audience a seductive look before ending their performance with a: **"Meooooww!"**

"Meowlicious, Rwar! I think it's almost time for the second –half match to begin!" Jackson spoke while Lacus and Cagalli were entering the stadium. They stopped in their tracks as Lacus scanned the whole area for their friends.

In less than a minute she spotted them seated right in the middle of the row. It was going to be quite a long walk towards their seats, so Lacus placed Cagalli's arms behind her neck as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Hang in there, Cagalli we're reaching our seats soon." Lacus whispered to her as she nodded palely.

Miriallia was bored, her potato-chips has ran out so does her drink, she predicted that they're going to spend the next hour here without and food or water Miriallia can die, she excused herself from her friend and made her way to the vending machine to grab some light bites and asked around if any one wishes to grab anything.

Stellar wanted the Hot 'N' Spicy potato-chip while Isabelle wanted a packet of Milo as she was on a diet, Shiho didn't really need anything as her bag of popcorn was still full.

"CAGALLI, LACUS OVER HERE!" Milly shouted as she stood up from her seat seeing that their friends weren't too far away from them.

"We got it." Lacus smiled sweetly at her as they made their way to the empty seats that were available, with Lacus beside Cagalli, Isabelle on Cagalli's left, Stellar on Isabelle's left, while Miriallia and Shiho were on Lacus's right.

"You finally got here." Isabelle hugged Cagalli tightly.

"Belle can't breathe." Cagalli gasped as the girl hugged her super tight.

"Sorry." Isabelle blushed in embarrassment at her outburst of emotion and apologized, letting go of Cagalli as she did so. "What happened to you, you look pale?" She asked as she gently touched Cagalli's forehead "You seem to have a fever."

"I'm fine, Isabelle thanks for your concern and I'm sorry that I worried you." Cagalli apologized.

"No sweat, Cags." Isabelle replied as she smiled at her friend. "You sure you're alright?" Isabelle asked her one last time before the start of the second-half.

"Yes, and besides; I have Lacus with me now. Nothing else will happen today." Cagalli replied as she stretched out her legs.

"If you say so Princess, besides I have Panadol with me in case you need it." Belle opened her purse and showed Cagalli the medicine she brought along with her in case of an emergency.

"Now, let me present to you the second-half of the game." Kristen spoke as the timer on the scoreboard was reset_._

_With the blow of the whistle the game resumed._

* * *

><p><strong>[1]<strong>- Well, just feel like adding Ahmed in to get things heated^^ Don't you worry, I'm a loyalist when it comes to #Team AsuCaga.

**First Edition:** Year 2010

**Modified Edition:** Year 2014

MEL~

22/9/14

12.47AM


	5. The Game- PART II

**A/N: **For those who are wondering, Hotaruzala didn't change much of my works^^ just a little changes here and there, yup she did such a great job that I can't even tell which part was edited at first glance. Sarangheoyo, Heichou! 3

This chapter is credited to **Hotaruzala! The author of The Zala Files and The Hotness Fator  **Every author out there needs your motivation to move on the biggest motivation for us would be your recognition, so be PM Hotaruzala just because Jharu and all her faithful readers want her back! A petition to get Hotaruzala back to FFN once again...XDDD

**Parts of this chapter was contributed by Heichou! was having a serious WRITER'S BLOCK...LOLOL **

* * *

><p><strong>OF LOVE AND AFFECTION<strong>

**Chapter Five: The Game - PART II**

The tension was increasing as it was EH's ball. The captain stood forward and grabbed the ball from the referee, making a straight shot towards Ahmed who was hiding something under his sleeve.

Surprisingly, Ahmed caught it perfectly and just as he was about to make a direct shot to the goal; Athrun suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked him.

"Heading somewhere, Ahmed?" Athrun asked feigning curiosity.

"How do you know my name?" Ahmed hissed in response.

A devilish smirk formed on Athrun's face. The boy had fallen right into his trap and this time they were going to win by hook or by crook. Athrun rubbed his head a few times signaling to Yzak to get ready.

"You can't be serious? The announcer called your name earlier, that's how I knew…duh." Athrun was sure having fun hurting this boy's ego.

"Oh yeah? Well two can play at this game Ath….." suddenly Ahmed couldn't remember his opponent's name. He stood there dumbfounded since he was sure that it started with an** A **and ended with an **N**.

Athrun shook his head in disbelief and chuckled: "Wow, you're the first guy that had so much trouble remembering my name. "You ever notice that when you think really hard it smells like bacon?"

"Shut up! It's just that…I don't remember your name. Who cares about your name anyway! We're in the middle of a match right now Yamato!" Ahmed yelled in a frustrated tone.

Seeing Yzak take position behind Ahmed and give Athrun a thumbs up. The blue-haired ace then decided to stop teasing his opponent and switched back to game time mode as he replied.

"Yamato? Sorry, I'm afraid you're incorrect, but we have some fabulous parting gifts for you and thank you for playing our game." Athrun then proceeded to make a mad dash towards the ball turning the tables on the other team as he dribbled the ball to Yzak.

Ahmed, who was completed caught off guard, could only stare dumbly at the ball that had been taken away from him by the great Athrun Zala. Cheers could be heard from the bleachers as they waved the school flag around to show their support.

"Not bad, Zala." Yzak smiled and just as he was about to make the kick directly into the goal, Miguel came into the picture.

The blonde cracked his knuckles getting ready to defend his team's goal with all his might. Rey was his backup, which meant that there was no way the Fab 5 could win. "What's the matter silver head…scared?" he teased the usually easily angered Yzak.

"The word scared isn't in my dictionary." Yzak scoffed with a small smirk in response.

"Cocky aren't you? Look, no matter which direction you chose to kick that ball, I'll still block it Yzak Joule. They don't call me "Stonewall" for nothing."

Everyone was praying hard that Yzak would make the shot, except for Athrun as he knew that praying would still not change the fact that the other team could possibly score. With a whining Dearka standing nearby, it nearly made it hard for Athrun to think.

"_I'm positive that Mu told us something about this situation, but the only problem now is I can't remember what."_

"_Damn it! Looks like this goal will determine our fate in this match. Come on Zala think of something! You're the freakin' team captain and they're relying on you! If Yzak makes the wrong move, then that's it!"_

"Do not underestimate the Fab 5." Yzak swung his leg backwards, getting ready to kick the ball and with his leg still swung backwards, he heard Athrun shout that he had a better idea.

"Yzak! Pass the ball to Shinn! Kira! Back Shinn up while I distract the others."

The Fab 5 did what they were told as they spread out throughout the whole field. Shinn had the ball now and for this stunt to work he would need to strike at just the right time and at a fast speed.

Taking a deep breath, he began to dribble the ball forward. He was able to successfully dodge Ahmed, Miguel, and Rey but not Rau. In the blink of an eye Shinn's face was buried deep into the ground and a collective gasp could be heard from the crowd in response.

EH on the other side of the bleachers was jeering at EU and Rau smirked as this was the perfect time to bring out his present for the Fab 5. Sprinkling pepper over the ball, he made his way across the field; praying hard that no one saw what he'd just done.

Leaving the rest of the Fab 5, Kira made his entrance as he tried to snatch the ball from Rau. Roars of the thunder could be heard followed by flashes of lightening that indicated that the weather was taking a turn for the worst. A gust of strong wind blew in Rau's direction and the pepper powder according to the wind's direction.

"Almost there." Kira cursed under his breath as the strands of his hair were blocking his view. The moment Kira's nose came in contact with the pepper; it caused him to sneeze and come to an abrupt halt as Rau continued to make his way towards the goal.

Shinn's suspicions had already been confirmed when Kira began sneezing like crazy for the second time that day.

There was definitely something wrong with that ball. He waved a hand to the ref to pause the game as he jogged to Rau and grabbed the ball from him. He hissed at Rau: "I saw what you did back there and I'm on to you."

"Pardon me?" Rau replied feigning innocence.

"Stop playing dumb. I saw you slip something under your sleeve." Shinn hissed again as he stared him down.

"You shouldn't just go accusing people of things if you don't have any proof." Rau replied still maintaining his innocence.

"I do have proof. It's on the ball itself. I believe there's pepper on it." Shinn explained as he continued to coldly stare down his opponent.

Rau's evil laugher echoed throughout the whole field and Rey, the only one who knew his friend's plan; decided to back him up.

"Ridiculous. How dare you accuse us of doing such things." Rey eyed him.

**- Meanwhile on the bleachers…-**

Stellar and Shiho were wondering what was delaying this match. Miriallia, who was enjoying recording the video; had to stop due to the argument happening out on the field. Lots of gossiping could be heard; students were getting impatient to see the end result of this very close match.

"This is such a waste!" Milly exclaimed as she pressed the stop button.

"What happened?" Isabelle asked curiously.

"Looks like I have to stop recording since there doesn't seem to be an end to this delay on the field. I think the match has been postponed." Milly replied with a frustrated sigh.

"WHAT!? WHAT AM I GOING TO SAY TO UNCLE PAT AND AUNTIE LENORE!? THEY'RE SO GONNA KILL ME!" Isabelle exclaimed as she could imagine her uncle and auntie staring at her with their demon eyes as if trying to find the right punishment for her.

"I'm too young to die Milly! I haven't met my dream guy yet and I still wanna travel the world!" Isabelle buried her head into Milly's chest and sobbed dramatically.

"Guys shhh! Shinn is about to say something. It's not over yet." Stellar whispered to her friends as she pointed to the field.

**- Back on the field…-**

The sky was pitch dark as it started drizzling and Rau smirked as his planning was progressing so well that even the heaven's seemed to be taking his side.

Shinn could feel the anger flowing through his veins as the evidence, i.e. the ball was being cleaned off by the rain.

"What are you going to do now smart guy? The pepper's gone." Rau replied with a slight smirk.

"Why you..." Shinn was just about to punch him when Athrun intervened.

"Shinn…don't. It'll get us disqualified and besides, this trash is not worth our time." Athrun replied supportively as he eyed Rau.

"Ath… I mean captain, I'm positive that the ball caused Kira's uncontrollable sneezing." Shinn explained matter-of-factly.

"Well, you had proof but now thanks to this rain, it's gone!" Rau bellowed which caused the whole campus to gasp; looks like he let the cat out of the bag.

"There's really something wrong with that ball." Cagalli whispered to the girls.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" asked Milly curiously.

"Well, Kira was sneezing throughout the whole game for one." Cagalli whispered back and then glanced over to the field. "Oh wait, looks like something else is about to happen."

Due to fairness and sportsmanship, the referee took the ball from Rau to check and make sure there was no pepper on it. He placed the ball near his nose and smelled it, and nothing happened.

It looked like the rain did its job in helping them cover this dirty plot up. Shinn's claims were still unclear as now there was really no proof of it. The referee then told the audience that there was nothing wrong with the ball and that the match would resume in 5 seconds time.

Shinn cursed under his breath as he had failed to expose Rau's plans. The timer on the scoreboard starting counting down, 5…4…3….2… somehow it never reached 1 due to Cagalli suddenly shouting from the bleachers: "Hold on a second!" She forced herself to stand up from the bleachers despite her injuries.

All eyes were now on her and Cagalli started shivering as it was the first time she had so many people staring at her at once. She was suddenly unsure of how exactly she was going to say this.

Her heart told her that she should just do it, but her mind is told her that she should just ignore it.

For these few 5 minutes Cagalli was beginning to draw a lot of attention towards her and she hadn't even said anything yet.

This made both Meer and Meyrin so mad they wanted to pull all their hair out as they watched their beloved Athrun-kun stare very intensely at Cagalli even though the two of them were a thousand times prettier, sexier than **her**.

"Athha if you have nothing to say, just sit down and let them finish the game! You are such a disgrace to EU!" Meer screamed as she pointed her pom-poms at her followed by Meyrin.

"Yeah, Meer's right." Meyrin agreed sarcastically earning some jeering and laugher.

"Enough is enough you glorified Barbie doll and you… Piggy-tailed bitch! How dare you guys insult Cagalli like this!" Isabelle defended Cagalli. "I don't see why you need to insult her.

Just because she isn't as slutty as the two of you it still doesn't give you the right to say anything. I guess my cousin must be blind to have allowed you in his fan club. Do you hear me my dear cousin?!" she yelled across the bleachers to Athrun.

"Did I ever tell you that your cousin looks hot when she's angry? Hmm… I wonder what her measurements are." Dearka looked up at the bleachers and wolf-whistled at her.

Realizing Dearka was about to pounce on this girl, Milly gently pushed Isabelle back down into her seat.

"Milly, I'm not done yet!" she protested.

"Sorry. I just noticed Dearka was being his usual pig self and wanted to make sure he didn't try anything." Milly replied giving Dearka a small glare.

**- Back on the field…-**

"Aww, I wanted to take a long glance at her cleavage! Damn it Miriallia let her stand back up!" Dearka exclaimed as Kira was signaling him to stop, while Athrun was getting ready to kill him any minute.

"Woah, chill buddy; I was just joking." Dearka held up his hands in self defense as Athrun stalked towards him.

"Dearka, you'd better start running." Athrun stared him down, his emerald eyes full of seriousness.

"You can't be serious right?" Dearka started backing up slowly.

"Guys, calm down. Besides, we need to know what Cagalli-san is going to tell the referee." Kira explained as he came in between them to stop the fight.

**- Meanwhile back in the bleachers…-**

"I have proof that Shinn's accusation was the truth!" Cagalli exclaimed as she took the camera from Miriallia.

A smile could be seen on Shinn's face as the others were still suspecting whether Cagalli and Shinn were speaking the truth. The referee signaled Cagalli to head towards the middle of the field to pass him the evidence while the others could only wait for the result.

Lacus offered to help Cagalli down the flight of stairs since she was in the middle of recovering, but being as stubborn as she was, the spunky blonde shook her head indicating to Lacus that she would be okay. "I don't like to owe anyone any favors Lacus. It's okay. I'm fine. "Cagalli gave her a pat on her shoulder as she jumped lightly on the spot to convince Lacus that she was feeling better.

"If you insist, I won't stop you." Lacus spoke softly as she watched the fiery blonde princess make her way down the stairs. She could tell that Cagalli was still in a little pain but knew if she tried to argue with her about it, she wouldn't win.

"Hurry up Athha we don't have all day! I need to curl my hair for Kira-kun's birthday party!" Meer exclaimed frustratedly as she had just reminded Cagalli Kira's birthday was in two days. Realizing that she was nowhere near the middle of the stairs.

Cagalli took a deep breath and then made a mad dash her way down them wincing all the way. With her face flushed, Cagalli retrieved the video that contained the proof and then handed the camera to referee all the while panting for air.

Suddenly she felt like everything was spinning and …"CAGALLI!" was the last thing she heard before she blacked out once again. "Kira?" she called softly as her eyes blinked slowly open. She exclaimed in shock and surprise: "It's you!" Cagalli was surprised by the savior that cradled her in his arms.

"Sorry to disappoint you Athha, I'm not Kira-kun." Athrun replied with a small chuckle.

Seeing Athrun was having fun teasing her again, Cagalli was fuming mad. She pushed him away with all the strength she had left.

Somehow Athrun knew that she was trying to escape, a smirk could be seen as he tightened his grip around her waist and thought: _"She's cute when she's mad."_

Before Cagalli could attempt her third try in breaking free from Athrun's grasp, the referee blew the whistle as it was time reveal the results. The video in fact did prove that there was pepper on the ball, hence the match was now over this year's soccer trophy would go to EU.

Athrun released Cagalli as he made his way over to the referee with the rest of his team to collect their trophy and take a group photo with their coach Mu.

"Wasn't that an exciting game?! Looks like our team will remain champions again this year." Kristen spoke with excitement.

"It sure is Kristen! Well, with this we've come to end of the year soccer championship. See you again next year same bat time, same bat channel!" With that the two speakers ended their speech as a relaxing tone could be heard to lighten up the sprits.

"If wasn't for Shinn, the trophy wouldn't be ours. You guys and me at the cafeteria…my treat." Dearka smiled happily at his team mates.

"Oohhhh Fab 5!~" The cheerleaders threw their pompoms on the ground as they made their way to the field to congratulate them on their success. With Meer dashing her way to Atty-poo's side, Meyrin and Fllay tagging along behind her. A burning flame could be seen in Meyrin's eyes when Meer was twirling Athrun's hair in between her fingers.

It seemed to Cagalli that this was the best time to escape since Athrun's attention was now on Meer. Pushing the cheerleaders out of her way, she made her sweet escape.

Not wanting to lose to Meer, Meyrin ripped part of her own skirt off to reveal her creamy left thigh which caught Dearka's attention instead.

"Over here, mademoiselle; love your new skirt!" Dearka called out with a wolf whistle in Meyrin's direction.

"Geez, fine looks like I'm really out of luck." Meyrin sighed as she decided to head back to her dorm instead.

"Over here, Cagalli!" Lacus waved at her with a smile. "I'm so glad that you're okay."

"You shouldn't worry about me at this moment; looks like Fllay's got her hooks in Kira again." Cagalli shook her head as she pointed to where Kira and Fllay were standing. Fllay was giggling like an empty-headed school girl and hugging him while Kira was trying his best to push her away.

Getting annoyed with the magenta-haired girl's incessant sweet-talking, Kira decided to turn his head away and ignore her since she was obviously too engrossed in herself to even notice what he was doing.

After what had happened in the infirmary, Lacus trusted Kira and knew that there was no need to waste her time on that girl. A sharp eyed girl like Miriallia instantly knew there was something between them the moment they entered the field.

To Milly both of them were having a rendezvous with Kira giving her a smile as Lacus's cheeks turned crimson red. Seeing Dearka getting nearer and nearer to the girls, Athrun excused himself from Meer as he made his way to his horny friend's side to stop him. This time, it was the big bad wolf named Dearka who broke the moment between them with his perverted words that made Miriallia sick to her stomach.

"Aren't you Athrun's cousin?" the blonde asked Isabelle in a very flirtatious tone.

Isabelle turned to the source of voice and recognized this tanned guy as Dearka whom Athrun had mentioned quite often when he visited home when they were still young.

"Yes, and you're Dearka-san right?" She asked with a small smile.

"I'm honored that such a beauty like you still remembers my name." Dearka took her hand and just as he was about to give it a kiss, Athrun pulled him back.

"Lay a hand on her and you're dead." Athrun hissed in a whisper and then turned to the girls with a blindingly beautiful smile.

"Say Dearka you mentioned that you're going to treat us to drinks right? I'm sure you don't mind if the girls join too." With that he winked and gave a seductive look to Cagalli in hopes that she would get his message.

Shinn tugged at Kira's shirt, alerting him to the scene that was enfolding silently in front of them. Looks like only the both of them knew about Athrun's secret.

Ignoring Athrun's charms, Cagalli told her clique that as much as she loved to join them she couldn't due to the fact that "Athena" had gotten her in trouble in class earlier and she had a lot of work to do.

"Who's Athena?" Isabelle asked as she was the only one who didn't know about the nickname Cagalli had given her cousin.

"She means Athrun." Miriallia answered with a chuckle.

"Athena? Seriously tell me all about it Cags. What did he do to piss you off so much?" Isabelle pressed her curiously for an answer.

"Why don't you ask your cousin about it, thanks to him and his fan club I have to re-write the definition of a weak acid." Cagalli eyed him angrily. "Anyway, count me out; I really don't have extra time to fork out to join you guys.

Kira's birthday party is coming up and I still need to think of a decent outfit to wear." Just as Cagalli was about to head back to her dorm, Isabelle stopped her.

"Aww! Don't go Cagalli! Besides, Athrun is at fault too. I'm sure my dear cousin wouldn't mind helping you finish up writing the definition. The rest of the Fab 5 can help too.

Their pretty good when it comes to telling girls what dresses look good on them. Just leave it to me…alright?" Isabelle winked and gave Cagalli a small smile.

"If you say so." Cagalli replied with a sigh.

"Come on, the rest are waiting for us at the cafeteria." Both of the giggled as they proceed to the café."

* * *

><p><strong>- In the cafeteria a few minutes later…-<strong>

The Fab 5 kind of had their own private lounge since Athrun's dad owned parts of this campus. Others were envious of these 6 ladies that were invited to the Fab 5's lounge. Meer was screaming and begging Athrun to let her in, Fllay did the same to Kira.

"I can't stand it anymore, those people staring at us." Cagalli whispered to Lacus.

"Well, it's kind of easy to get used to it. I don't blame you since this was your first time having so much attention." Lacus smiled at her before the waitress came in to serve them their cocktails.

"Enjoy your drinks."

"Bill it to Dearka." Athrun told her as he stood up from the couch and went to grab two glasses of cocktails for himself and Cagalli. "Cagalli, this is yours." Athrun passed her the glass of red ruby.

Seeing that the table was already empty, it left Cagalli with no choice but to accept the beverage from Athrun and thank him which earned Cagalli more glares from the jealous fan girls.

Dearka didn't realize how expensive all the cocktail juices were until he took a sip of it and realized this was a very rare fruit: "WHAT, RED RUBY!?"

"What's the matter, Dearka? Having cash flow problems?" Shinn asked as he feared this moment the most every time Dearka offered to pay a bill and couldn't. Shinn always wound up being the one to pay the bill in the end.

"Not this time Shinn. Don't worry. After all, I did say that the drinks are on my treat. £25000 per glass is peanuts to me." Dearka laughed as he could feel the pain in his heart and wallet. At least flirting with babes at some random bar was much cheaper than this.

"There's goes my weekend without those lovely stars." Dearka muttered but somehow Miriallia caught it.

"Dearka, you're still one giant ass perv." Milly replied as she threw her glass of red ruby at the flirty blonde's face and dashed off in an angry huff.

"I'll go get her. Sorry guys. We shall chat another time." Shiho bid her goodbyes as she ran after her fuming mad friend.

"Did something happen between them?" Yzak asked, eyes not leaving Shiho as she ran past him.

"Beats me." Shinn responded.

"Just a word of advice Dearka. Go and clear up your misunderstanding with Milly." Isabelle pushed Dearka in the direction of where Milly and Shiho had run off. Isabelle then turned to Athrun and asked with a slight yawn: "You, my dear cousin; are you done with those definitions yet? Cagalli and I need our beauty sleep for tomorrow's shopping spree."

"Done." Athrun said when he was about to hand Cagalli back the finished work Isabelle snatched it from him.

"Let this be a reminder to you. Do not make a fool out her anymore." She wagged her finger at him like a mother scolding her child and then turned to Lacus and asked sweetly: "Do you mind helping Cagalli by handing in her work tomorrow since she's technically on medical leave for the next two days?"

"Sure. Anything for a friend." Lacus replied with a smile

"How do you guys know each other?" Athrun asked them as he was curious.

"None of your business." Isabelle replied sticking out her tongue.

"Ouch! You burned me." Athrun placed his hand over his broken heart which made his fan club go wild.

"We're family. As if I'd fall for your tricks. Let's go Cagalli I'm beat." Isabelle replied with a small smile.

Cagalli nodded as she thanked Dearka for the drink before she left the lounge with Isabelle, leaving Lacus and Stellar behind.

_"Cagalli, I'll make sure that you fall head over heels for me." Athrun thought to himself with a small devilish grin._

"Well, I'll be going too. Gotta shower and wash this stink off. I smell like a dead fish." Athrun grabbed his stuff and went back to his dorm to take a hot shower.

"What should we do now?" Lacus asked with a smile.

"End this gathering. I'm so sorry Lacus, I didn't think things would turn out this way." Kira apologized in an embarrassed tone.

"It's fine Kira." Lacus reassured him as she placed her hands over his.

Kira blushed in response to this action and replied: "It's getting late; let me escort you ladies back."

Lacus accepted his offer with Stellar tagging along behind them, leaving the rest of them in the lounge.

"Come on Shinn, let's get out of here so Dearka doesn't stick us with the bill." Kira exclaimed as he motioned for Shinn to come with them, which he did.

**- Meanwhile… at the fountain with Milly and Shiho…-**

"Stop running, Miriallia!" Shiho shouted and stopped in front of the fountain panting for air in hopes that Miriallia would hear her.

"Go away, leave me alone." Miriallia grumbled, her eyes red and puffy.

"No, I will never abandon you my friend. Tell me what's bothering you." Shiho replied as she took a seat next to her and laid her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"You wouldn't understand." Miriallia replied with a sniffle.

"Of course, I don't understand your feelings now, but if you're willing to tell me what's wrong I may be able to help. We are all here for you and will always be there to help you. Take your time Milly and let me know when you're ready." Shiho replied with a supportive smile.

"I love Dearka even though he's a jerk and it hurts me to hear him talk about his little adventures with other girls." Milly blurted out.

"Did you tell him how you feel yet?" Shiho asked calmly.

"No, I'm scared of rejection." Milly replied in a soft voice.

"Everybody is." Shiho explained as she patted her friend's hand.

"Really?" Milly asked, her voice starting to sound more hopeful.

"Yes. Take me for example. I have someone I like, but I'm scared that by confessing my feelings to him, I'll get turned down. He's good in both sports and studies, which makes me very envious of him. I'm always not sure if he will accept me and maybe he already has a girlfriend.

I'd almost forgotten about it. The silver hair that shines so brightly under the night sky and how I wish he would take me in his arms and whisper to me those three words that I've been dying to hear. Ohh… that would be my perfect fairytale ending."

"Is that person Yzak Joule?" Miriallia asked curiously as she eyed her friend Shiho with a small playful smirk.

"Is it that obvious?" Shiho asked with a slight giggle and flush to her face.

"Yup, since he's the only one I know who's got silver hair on the whole campus." Miriallia answered with a giggle.

"I'm glad that you're smiling again Milly. You scared me earlier. Don't do that ever again okay?" Shiho gave her friend a hug as she said this.

"You have my word. Now…the last one to reach our room is a rotten egg!" Milly exclaimed as she leapt up and suddenly dashed off towards their dorm.

"No fair! You got a head start!" Shiho yelled with a laugh as she tried her best to catch up.

**- Boys' dorm…Athrun's room -**

Athrun came out of the bathroom clad in only a towel that covered the lower half of his body, water dripping off his damp hair making him more attractive. If any girls were to see this they would faint on the spot. "Eh, Kira; you're back." He addressed his friend with a quick wave as he headed to his dresser drawer to grab a clean pair of boxers.

"Yeah, it's late. Besides, we still have biology class early in the morning." Kira reminded his friend as he put his gym bag on the floor next to his bed.

After putting on his red boxers, Athrun slapped his forehead as he was reminded of what had happened earlier that day: "Shit, I'd totally forgotten about that. What happened during the last lesson of Ms. Gladys's since I was smack right in the middle of a catfight?"

"Nothing much, just the definition of different parts of the heart and what types of blood vessels are connected to it."

"The notes are on your desk there. Read them before class starts tomorrow. Now, if there's nothing else left for you to ask me, I'm off to take my shower. Goodnight Athrun." Kira smiled and gave a slight wave to his friend before he closed the door to the bathroom.

"Thanks Kira. Night." Athrun replied as he then opened his closet and threw on a black tee shirt. He then took out his contact lenses and replaced them with some very slim looking glasses. The blue-haired boy then walked towards his desk and picked up the notes that Kira had left for him.

He flipped through the pages and read part of them and then put them down and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Never again would he study at night it only made him sleepier.

He couldn't take it anymore. He then put the notes into his school bag and just as he was about to close the curtains, something caught his attention. It was the room on the fifth floor across the road from their building…its lights were still on.

"Cagalli?" Athrun rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't seeing things and the presence of Lacus and Isabelle he then knew it was Cagalli and Lacus's room.

Looks like the girls were having a pillow fight with feathers floating round the room. Athrun couldn't help but smile at this and say softly into the night:

"Sweet dreams Cagalli…my feisty girl."

* * *

><p><strong>[1]- <strong>We want HotaruZala back! hehehe T^T I miss seeing her name appearing on the first few stories.

**First Edition: **Year 2010

**Modified Edition:** Year 2014

MEL~

22/9/14

1.10AM


	6. Ahmed, The transferred Student

**A/N:** The longest chapter I had ever written in my entire life~ HAHAHAHAA! But it was worth the time, this is where the fun begins. I'll start revealing Cagalli's identity slowly after all curiosity kills the cat. OMG, I remember, Heichou telling me this very meaningful speech if you love what you're doing, don't stop! Enough of me ranting...XD

#Petition to bring Hotaruzala back, because I'm serious? hehehe!

This chapter is credited to my lovely heichou. *huggies*

* * *

><p><strong>OF LOVE AND AFFECTION<strong>

**Chapter Six: Ahmed: The transferred Student **

**-9.00 AM, the Girls' Dormitory...Cagalli and Lacus's room.-**

"Wakey Wakey." Isabelle yawned as she shook the sleeping figure up.

"Couple of more minutes Lacus." Cagalli groaned as she tossed and accidentally kicked the blanket off the bed.

"Cags, you never change. Beside I'm not Lacus... she's in class right now." Isabelle replied with a chuckle.

"IN CLASS?!" Cagalli shot up as she stared at the alarm clock which showed 8.45am. "OMG, I'm so late for my physics class; Mr. Mu going to make me do star jumps before he allows me to enter!"

"Did the fever make you senile? Geez, you're on medical leave remember? Today we are supposed to have our shopping spree." Isabelle replied with a smile.

"Oops, totally forgot about that." Cagalli smacked herself in the head for not remembering and let out a small chuckle.

"But before we head out, let's have a make-over session. Hurry up get your butt to the bathroom this instant." Isabelle demanded in a firm tone.

"I don't see a need to have a makeover." The messy haired blonde whined.

"Kira's birthday is coming right? It also happens to be your birthday too, so why not take this opportunity to impress him or Athrun with your new makeover?" Isabelle replied in an encouraging tone.

Belle's words set off a buzzer in Cagalli's head. How she could have forgotten about her own birthday? She heaved a heavy sigh and replied: "You're right, maybe I do really need a makeover; besides I only have the usual casual clothes in my closet. "

"You can borrow Lacus's clothes for the time being since I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Meet me at the dorm entrance when you're done and remember to wear your contacts." Isabelle smiled and stuck Cagalli's glasses in her pocket before she left the room.

**-9.15AM, Meanwhile on campus-**

As Isabelle was making her way to the girl's dorm's entrance, she spotted her dear cousin Athrun making his way down the stairs from the boys' dormitory. "Athrun!" she yelled extremely loudly, which caused the blue haired boy to stop dead in his tracks and turn his head towards the source of the voice.

"What are you doing here?" Athrun asked as he adjusted his spectacles.

"I could ask you the same thing, dear cousin." Isabelle replied with alight laugh. "Don't lessons start at 8.15am sharp? Why are you still here?" she pressed her cousin for an answer.

"I kind of overslept and Kira totally forgot to wake his buddy up when Lacus came over to ask him some questions regarding the lesson. Somehow both of them ended up making their way to the Biology Lab instead." Athrun explained.

"I see ...someone finally wears his spectacles." Isabelle answered in a mocking tone.

"Hey! My contacts were nowhere to be found this morning... I was left with no choice but to wear these. Besides, I rarely have the chance to wear them. I suppose the specs look good on me?" Athrun asked his cousin curiously.

"Hmm... yeah, they kinda do. Catch you later cuz." Isabelle smiled and waved goodbye to her cousin as she continued her walk.

Athrun smiled as he made his way to the biology lab, Miss Gladys could be heard at the end of the corridor as she was famous for her super bass voice.

The lab seemed quieter than usual without the blonde joker and fan clubs. The requirements to take Biology as a subject were challenging; unless you were an elite student, there was no way the campus would allow you to take this.

Since this was an elite class, their lecture will only go though the notes, the last 10 minutes are allocated for QNA. [Questions and Answers] but Miss Gladys doubts that her students will seek help from her, but nevertheless she still kept herself available for help.

"Mr. Asuka, would you mind reading the fourth paragraph from page 19 of your notes?" Miss Gladys asked as she pointed her index finger at Shinn.

Shinn cleared his throat as he stood up from his seat and looked around the room before he started reading softly. "The function of an artery ..." Shinn mumbled.

"I'm sorry; I doubt that ants could hear you." Gladys responded.

Feeling hurt by the insult, Shinn kicked the empty seat next to him, which was Athrun's; to show his displeasure before he started attempting a second try: "…artery..."

This time it was Athrun that stopped him as everyone began staring at him as he entered the lab with his new look. The once 'cool-looking' Athrun Zala had turned into a nerd freshman with those spectacles of his. If looks could kill, the only survival would be among his avid fan girls.

"You're late. An hour late to be exact." Miss Gladys scolded him.

"Can't be helped, my best friend abandoned me." Athrun replied coolly.

"I shall give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you're late one more time... you'll win yourself a one way ticket to the detention room." Miss Gladys replied in a firm tone.

The blue haired boy responded with a nod.

With that, the great Athrun Zala made his way back to his seat beside Shinn. He thanked god that his fan club wasn't in this class since it would be hard to concentrate with all of them giggling and drooling continuously over his new look.

Well, it's hard to be a popular; but it's even worse to be ignored. Seeing Kira and Lacus engaging in lovey-dovey acts; i.e. with Kira's arms wrapped around Lacus's waist, and embracing her in his arms every few minutes was quite a sight to behold.

They would also take secret glimpses at each other when Miss Gladys wasn't looking at them and blushing when they got caught by her.

This made Athrun want to gouge his eyes out. What a great scene to open up a brand new day with. He wished that Cagalli were in all his classes so that he could make it his daily mission to make a fool out of her.

The cunning emerald eyed boy still had a lot of tricks up his sleeve to deal with his feisty Cagalli and visiting cousin Isabelle and a good magician never revealed his secrets.

The truth is, Miss Gladys's lessons were boring and an elite student like him could comprehend the topic in less than 5 minutes. The only thing left to do was occupy himself for the remaining class hours.

Replying back in texts to all the messages he received from his fan club was what he decided to do to kill a few minutes. Meer and Meyrin were the top senders in his list just so they could find an excuse to get out the class to check his locker for any new gifts and letters from his other fans and dispose of them.

That only taking a mere five minutes of his time Athrun could feel his eyelids growing heavier as each second passed; before he knew it... he was sleeping soundly on the bench with his notes flying around the lab as his bench was right under the whirling fan.

**-Meanwhile... at the entrance with the paparazzi-**

The president of the paparazzi had organized a team of four including the president himself to go around the campus to snap pictures that were to circulate around the bulletin for the month of May.

The team was wracking their brains on which kind of news they wanted to have this time since last month's issue was about Zala's fight, which unexpectedly was the issue that was the hottest topic for the month of April.

The two ravishing beauties at the entrance had given the president a great idea just by a look and he swore one of them looked familiar.

Still holding on to his camera, he adjusted his uniform and curled the tip of his fringe before making his way towards the ladies. _"They shall be my issue for May's cover, hmm... I wonder if they are associated with the fab 5 since the fab 5 are infamous for womanizing."_

"Oh my Cagalli, you're sizzling hot!" Isabelle exclaimed excitedly as she checked her friend out. She was wearing one of Lacus's powder blue sun dresses.

The blonde replied flatly: "Gee…I'm flattered."

"I'm not flattering you; it's the fact that you're hotter than M &M." Isabelle replied with a smile.

"How on earth, did you know their nicknames?" Cagalli asked her friend curiously.

"Oh well... my dear Cagalli, I do have spies around campus." Isabelle giggled as a flash caught her attention.

**"Click"**

"What's going on?" Isabelle demanded.

"Nothing good. Now run!" Cagalli shouted as she recognized them as the campus's paparazzi.

"Cagalli, tell me what's wrong!" Isabelle exclaimed as they ran.

"Not now. If that picture gets circulate around the campus, there would be more reasons for those ditzes to pick on me." Cagalli replied in a breathless tone as she ran. She was very happy she had decided to wear the white flats that she had in her closet as opposed to Lacus's many high heels.

"Hold on, you two!" The president yelled as he ran after the two of them. A born to be slow runner, Cagalli knew there was no way she could escape without her identity being revealed unless a miracle appeared.

"Ouch, watch where you're going!" Cagalli yelled as someone bumped into her while she was running.

"My apologizes, are you hurt?" Ahmed asked as he went to pinch her rosy cheeks.

"Get your flirty hands off my cheeks; you're as sick as Yuuna." Cagalli smacked his hand away in hopes that he would take a hint, but things didn't turn out the way she wanted as Ahmed now placed his arms around her waist.

**"Click"**

"Let me go you jerk! Don't you know who that guy is that's snapping our picture right now?!" Cagalli exclaimed angrily as she tried to free herself from his grip.

"I don't know and frankly, I don't care. Never compare me to anyone else, do you understand?" Ahmed replied in a firm tone.

"You are persistent aren't you?" Cagalli asked still trying to get out of his grip.

"Thanks for the compliment. In case you didn't know, persistent is my middle name." Ahmed replied with a small smirk.

"Stop changing the subject. I am warning you, let me go right this instant or bear the consequences." Cagalli replied with a hiss.

"What if I refuse?" Ahmed gave her his famous smirk; and pushed Cagalli forward to embrace her.

**"Click"**

It took Cagalli a few minutes to absorb the information. Firstly, she met this weirdo with a weird hairstyle unlike Athena. Secondly, they were having a quarrel, which caught the attention of the paparazzi. Lastly, she was in his embrace. For heaven's sake never in her life did she let any guys embrace her in this manner.

"**ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!**" Cagalli screamed as she pushed him away gave a left hooked punch to the boy's face before making her way back to Isabelle. Leaving Ahmed standing there looking shocked, dumbfounded, and bleeding from the nose.

Taking another glimpse of the retreating fiery blonde, Ahmed then wiped the blood from his nose and smirked. _"There's one interesting girl." _He thought to himselfas he headed to the main campus building to meet with the headmistress.

The paparazzi president was satisfied with the results he had collected and pressed the display button to view the pictures before calling it a day; in the meantime he'd be in the editing room readying to publish the pictures once they were ready.

**-A few kilometers outside EU's entrance.-**

"Cagalli, are you alright?!" Isabelle asked her frantically.

Cagalli waved her hands up in the air and shook her head to convince Isabelle that she's was really alright and there was nothing to worry about.

"I'm sorry, if I knew that this was going to happen, then I wouldn't have left you alone with that Ahmed guy. For some reason, I just don't trust him." Isabelle replied with a worried tone.

_"Where are all the decent guys on earth?"_ Cagalli's inner mind screamed while Isabelle was apologizing.

"Who's Ahmed?" Cagalli asked her innocently, she really had no clue who on earth would name their child Ahmed. After all, Athrun's name was much easier to remember and sounded nicer too. _"Damn, this is the second time; my mind calls for Athrun's name. What on earth is happening to me?"_

"I beg your pardon?" Isabelle asked, shocked that Cagalli had no idea who she had just gotten into a confrontation with.

"Ahmed was the guy you just had that little encounter with. Athrun once told me that he doesn't get along with him.

He's from Emerald high; I wonder what he was doing here?" Isabelle was now in thinking mode trying to figure out why someone from another school would come here other then for a sports competition.

Cagalli shook her head and shrugged: "Beats me."

"Never mind. Alright, let the fun begin." Isabelle linked arms with Cagalli as they headed towards the nearest shopping mall.

**Back to Biology Lab...**

Everyone was packing their bags getting ready to attend their next lesson with the exception of Kira and his buddy, Athrun.

"Get up, Athrun." Kira shook his friend gently. If he didn't get up now; both of them were going to be late for their next lesson. Kira had signalled Lacus to move on ahead without them as he didn't want to drag her into deep water.

The sleepy blue haired boy groaned: "Leave me alone."

Kira heaved a worried sigh: "You are not your normal self today Athrun. What's the matter? You can't be tired already since you just woke up not that long ago."

"Kira, it's none of your business. Shouldn't you be accompanying Lacus to class right now? Besides, I don't give a damn about the consequences as long I'm the top student." Athrun explained as he jolted up.

"Did I ever tell you that you're like an open book Athrun?" Kira replied with a small smirk.

"Oh really? How is that? C'mon, humour me for today." Athrun answered coolly.

"It's completely obvious that you're in love with Cagalli." Kira replied still smirking,

"Nice try, soon–to-be birthday boy. You couldn't be farther from the truth." This was Athrun's last sentence before he grabbed his bag and walked out of the lab.

"ATHRUN, YOU CAN'T HIDE THE TRUTH ANY LONGER, MARK MY WORDS!" Kira shouted with a chuckle at his friend who was already down the hall.

"_Blackmail? Kira, my dear friend, your tactics don't seem to work quite well." A smirk could be seen on Athrun's face as he swung his bag._

**-In the middle of Professor Mu's Physics lessons-**

You could hear the sound of broken pens, students groaning, and the sound of paper been torn apart as they received their class test. The students had no idea if their professor woke up from the wrong side of the bed this morning, as he hadn't reminded them that there was a test taking place.

Yzak was more than delighted to receive the test, as it was his time to outshine Athrun for once. Seeing the questions related to the topic, he was confident as he took his pen and started calculating his answers leaving Dearka way behind.

"Yzak, what's your answer for Question 4 part VI?" Dearka whispered while tapping his pen to signal Yzak.

Placing his pen down, Yzak turned and faced Dearka, took a deep breath to calm down, and ignored him before going back to attempt his test with a clear conscience. Seeing that Yzak failed to answer him, Dearka decided to give it a try once more.

"Hey buddy, you mind sharing your answers with me?" Dearka asked him giving him his famous smirk at the same time.

"ENOUGH! Has anyone ever told you that you are irritating?!" Yzak slammed his fist on the table.

Dearka whined loudly: "This is how you pay me back your buddy when he's in deep water. To ever think that I always share my tips with you on how to flirt with ladies and how to make them fall head over heels for you!"

"YOU STILL DON'T GET IT DO YOU?! EARTH TO DEARKA; THIS IS A TEST NOT YOUR NORMAL DAYS ASSIGNMENTS!" Yzak exclaimed in a frustrated tone.

Dearka shouted back equally as frustrated: "OH YEAH?! WELL TO ME, BOTH OF THEM ARE THE SAME!"

"WHY YOU...!" Before Yzak could finished his sentence, Mu gave the both of them smacked both their heads with the back of his hand and reprimanded them for distracting the class.

"One more time, and you're out of my class do you hear me; Joule, Elsman?" Mu replied firmly.

"Yes, sir." The two answered in a whisper.

"Tsk tsk, they are only wasting their time by giving us this test. It's useless anyway. My nails are way more important than this." Meer whispered to Meyrin haughtily as she blew her nails to dry the polish.

"You know what Meer, this time I have to agree with you." Meyrin smiled gullibly as her inner mind thought: "Watch_ out Meer. This time I'll make sure Athrun will be mine. My outfit will definitely outshine yours. Athrun and I will be dancing under the moonlight while you cry over by the punch bowl."_

The scenes playing in Meyrin's mind were too hard to resist as she was giggling and mumbling to herself, which caught the attention of others.

Her daydream was nearing it's climax and just as she was about to kiss Athrun, Professor Mu dropped his novel on Meyrin's hand which resulted in her jumping out of her seat crying in pain while the rest of the class laughed at her.

"Earth to Meyrin." Fllay stood up from her desk and made her way to 's desk where she handed in her blank test paper... whispering some words of advice to Meyrin as she walked past her.

"You wanna win Athrun's heart by the level of your make-up, pathetic. No matter how hard you try, you'll never outshine Meer." Fllay smirked while giving her a stare

Feeling insulted by the comment; instead of retaliating back like what she usually did, this time she remained silent as she was determined to beat Meer at her own game.

Meyrin already had it envisioned in her mind that she was going to be crowned the best dressed queen while Athrun would be crowned her best dressed king. _"We shall see about that, Fllay. My condolences Meer because this year your crown is mine."_

* * *

><p><strong>-Z Mall...with Cagalli and Isabelle-<strong>

"Wow, never in my life have I seen this much of a variety of clothes for the shopper to choose from. By the way, what's with the name of this mall, I swear it sounds familiar." Cagalli gulped as sweat glided down her forehead.

"You're too slow, Cags. Hmm... Does the name '**Zala'** sound familiar to you?" Isabelle asked as they made their way to the VIP suite.

"Oh my god! Please don't tell me that this mall is owned by Athena's Dad... SpongeBob's bestie Patrick Star?!" Cagalli's eyes widened as she shook her head vigorously while her inner mind screamed:

"_Just how rich is Athrun and his family?! Do they own the whole PLANTS and have everyone at their mercy?! What's next, the campus, the mall, and don't tell me… they probably own the apartment I rented too!"_

"EARTH TO, CAGALLI." Isabelle waved her hand in front of her friend's face.

"Thank a lot, Isabelle Mari Zala." I responded while emphasising her last name.

"Come on, I'm sure you would love this place as much as other women do. Did you know that there's a nickname for this mall?" Isabelle asked her with a smile.

"There's is?" Cagalli asked curiously.

"Yup, the women came up with this nickname because they were head over heels in love with this mall, thanks to Auntie Lenore. It's called, "**Fashion Paradise**." Isabelle was beaming from ear to ear as she said this.

"Lenore?" I swear I saw this name appearing in one of Lacus' fashion magazines. In a blink of an eye, everything began making sense.

It was then that Cagalli began feeling like a complete idiot. How could she not have realized that Isabelle was the niece of the most famous fashion designer in the entire universe who graduated from the **P.J's** main campus in Paris!

"You're related to the elite designer, LENORE ZALA!" Cagalli blurted out while covering her mouth at the same time hoping that no one else had heard her.

"Shocked?" Isabelle asked with a giggle.

"Yes." Cagalli replied embarrassed.

"My apologies for not telling you earlier, Cagalli. I have my reasons for not doing it. I hope that you'll forgive me." Isabelle replied apologetically.

Cagalli nodded and smiled: "You're forgiven."

"Really?" Isabelle asked curiously.

Cagalli nodded her head, earning a hug from Isabelle. Their actions caught someone's attention from far.

A graceful smile could be seen on the older woman's face as she just found the perfect model for her latest master piece that she had just designed weeks ago.

"Welcome, Miss Isabelle and Miss Cagalli." The sales-lady greeted them as she placed her right arms over her left shoulder as she bows towards them.

"Erm, you don't really have to bow to me; you know we kind of have the same social status." Cagalli told her as she helped the sales-lady up.

"That's very kind of you milady, but you're friends with Miss Isabelle, which makes you of a higher rank than me." The lady explained to Cagalli as she guided them to a nearby couch.

She then snapped her fingers to alert her colleagues to bring out the snacks and drinks.

Cagalli had to admit, their work efficiency was high. They received their drinks and snacks in what seemed like light speed. The workers placed them on the coffee table with some magazines under them. The lady, whom Cagalli assumed is the one in-charge, excused herself as she closed the door; allowing the two of them to enjoy their refreshments before the start of their shopping spree.

"Isabelle, what's the flavour of this tea that I'm drinking right now?" Cagalli asked curiously before she took a sip. The fragrance that was emitting into the air made her feel refreshed just by sniffing it.

"Well... it's..." Before Isabelle could reply, her aunt Lenore knocked on the door and entered with the dress that she wanted Cagalli to try on.

"My dear, its rose tea imported from Paris. It was a gift for my birthday from Patrick. That sneaky husband of mine knows me so well he never fails to remember my favourite tea." Lenore replied with a warm, friendly smile.

"It seems we have something in common so it would be my pleasure to share my favourite tea with you since my husband and son don't appreciate it the way we do."

Cagalli thought to herself_: "So this is where Athrun got his charms from." _She then replied to Lenore with a smile and shake of her head_._

"Oh no, I can't accept it Miss Lenore; it's such an expensive gift, and besides; it was meant for you not me. Thank you anyway for the chance to try such an aromatic tea." Cagalli stood up from the couch and bowed.

"No need to be formal with me, Auntie Lenore is fine... Miss… How do I address you?" Lenore replied with a smile.

"My bad, looks like I've forgotten to introduce Cagalli to you Auntie Lenore." Isabelle stuck her tongue out as she apologized.

"You never change, Bella." Lenore replied with a chuckle.

"Auntie Lenore, its Belle not Bella." Isabelle said matter of factly.

"You're still the same old Bella who needs someone to love and protect." Lenore stood firm in her stand as the both of them started a mini debate on the nicknames. Cagalli couldn't help but giggle at the scene in front of her.

"Hey... aren't we supposed to get me a dress for the upcoming party?" Cagalli reminded Isabelle with a chuckle.

"Oops, completely slipped my mind." Isabelle replied with a light laugh.

Cagalli waved her hands and smiled: "No worries, Isabelle. I should've asked Lacus to tag along so I wouldn't be such a burden to you. Besides, I'm pretty picky when it comes to fashion."

"Don't feel bad about it, Cags. I was the one that volunteered myself for this job… unless you maybe would prefer the presence of my handsome cousin, Athrun." Isabelle winked at her which caused Cagalli's cheeks to turn beet red.

She then turned her head to hide her crimson cheeks, but somehow Lenore managed to catch a glimpse.

"HELL NO! Who cares about the jerk anyway. I'm sure he's having plenty of fun with his rabid fan-club right now." Cagalli spoke with a hint of jealousy as she crossed her arms.

"Ahem, Ladies, If you don't mind I would like to present my latest design to Cagalli for the upcoming party. Cagalli, would you mind being my model for this dress? I was suddenly struck with inspiration during my trip to New York and I would really like this dress to become a big hit around the world."

Lenore then removed the dress from the dress bag and it revealed a v-shaped, white strapless cocktail dress that was knee length long, with a black ribbon tied at waistline. It also came with a matching pair of black laced-up heels.

Both Cagalli and Isabelle stared in shock; no words could describe the beauty of this dress, it was flawless. To think that, Cagalli would have the privilege to try it on, it was a dream comes true of her.

After all, what's so bad being about playing Cinderella for a night? At least she had a chance to try out the outfit and have a dance with prince charming as a bonus.

Since college Cagalli was an avid supporter of Lenore Zala's designs thanks to Lacus. Lacus had collections of her works from the limited edition evening gown to the usual casual clothing seen on the street.

What made her love Lenore's work so much was that all of her masterpieces had a story behind them, which Cagalli found meaningful.

She couldn't really enjoy these dresses like Lacus did, but who said that you need to buy all of them to be a fan of the designer? The minimum she could do was to give her support mentally.

"I can't accept it." Cagalli blurted out with an embarrassed blush.

"Cagalli my dear, if it's the price that's brothering you, don't worry. I'm giving it to you as a birthday gift. When is your birthday?" Lenore asked with a smile.

"May 18." The fiery blonde replied softly.

"Oh my, you have the same birthday as Kira; such a lucky girl." Lenore replied warmly as she clapped her hands together.

"Lucky girl?" Cagalli asked curiously.

"Aren't you? His fan-club would kill to have the same birthday date as him, same with the girls that like my son, Athrun." Lenore replied with a light laugh.

"Oh really?" Cagalli faked a smile.

"Let's not change the subject. So Cagalli, please accept this dress. I won't take no for an answer. Lenore replied with a friendly smile.

"Cagalli, Auntie Lenore is right. C'mon and accept it. It will solve your problem of finding a dress for the party." Isabelle took the dress from Lenore's hands and placed it in front of her friend.

"Fine then, if you guys insist." Cagalli grabbed it as Lenore suggested that she should try it out first to see if any adjustments needed to be made. Isabelle guided her to the changing room since she was not familiar with this trying things on in stores.

Lenore gave Isabelle a thumbs up as none of this would have been possible without each of their abilities to persuade Cagalli to accept the dress. Just as they were about to start their conversation, Cagalli came out of the dressing room. All eyes were on her including the salesperson, who had just entered.

She was like a goddess that had descended from heaven. The dress fitted her perfectly as it showed off all the curves of her body and that hour-glass figure of hers she had been hiding underneath all those bulky hoodies and sweatshirts.

The v-shaped design only covered one-quarter of her bosom, which made her feel insecure as it was her first time wearing this type of dress.

Isabelle couldn't stop teasing the goddess which caused Cagalli to blush.

"Oh my Cagalli, but you look gorgeous in that dress."

"This is the reason, I hate wearing dresses." Cagalli replied with a grumble and a small blush.

"Wrong answer. I'm sure that you will be the hit of the party. Let those bitches be envious of you. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and as a bonus you might catch the eye of my dearest cousin, Athrun." Isabelle replied with a smirk before she continued.

"The both of you will be dancing in the middle of the ballroom and when the clock strikes twelve, you will leave so your identity won't be revealed.

Athrun would then be chasing after you, leaving the audience to discuss on the campus's bulletin the next day: Who was that mysterious girl?"

"You know what Belle, it's a pity that you're not a creative writer because you would earn a lot of money with the kinds of stories you come up with in that head of yours.

Besides, it's a masquerade party; so no one really knows who's behind the mask anyway." Cagalli replied matter of factly.

"Exactly. If your identity will be hidden behind the mask, then why are you so afraid of wearing this dress? Don't you have any confidence in your body or yourself?" Isabelle pressed her friend for an answer.

"It's not that. It's that... I... I...I've never been to a ball before and it's my first time attending a birthday party being held in a ballroom.

A ballroom with lots of guests whose social statuses are equivalent to the Zala's or higher than mine." Cagalli explained nervously. "Plus the attire for the party is mostly black tie, and I've been having cash-flow problems since the age of sixteen.

The year I transferred into Eternal High pretty much bankrupted me. My tuition fees were paid for through the scholarship, but it didn't include my hotel fees, rental fees, and daily expenses.

Tell me where on earth should I go and find extra money to attend that party." Cagalli asked them in a slight panic as she continued: "Maybe this is the reason why the whole campus hates me with the exception of my clique.

Being born in this world as an orphan was bad enough, but to have people you barely even know hating you… it's terrible. How I wish I had a family that would love and care about me the same way my friends do, but that's impossible. I never knew who my biological parents were.

What I heard from Aunt Caridad was that she found me on her doorstep when I was just an infant, with a note.

The note contained nothing but my name... Cagalli. At sixteen, I moved out of her apartment and rented my own because I didn't want to be a burden to her any longer. I want to be independent and I don't need someone to pity me." Tears glided down her cheeks as she recalled the events of her life.

"I'm sorry, Cagalli. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Forgive me." Isabelle apologized to Cagalli as she gave her a friendly hug.

"It's alright, Belle. No hard feelings." Cagalli replied with a small smile as she wiped the tears from her amber eyes.

Lenore offered her a tissue to wipe off her eyes with as she patted Cagalli's shoulder and passed her the matching piece of mask that she would need at the ball. Cagalli thanked her for her generosity.

"Cagalli, my dear I'm sure that you will find your family soon. A sweet girl like you doesn't deserve such treatment or to be so hard on herself. Come on, give me a smile." Lenore placed a supportive hand over Cagalli's.

Cagalli did what she was told as she gave Lenore her usual smile, and suddenly it a bell went off in Lenore's head.

Cagalli looked identical to Kira ... Athrun's best friend and Via Hibiki... a good friend of Lenore's who was deceased, with the exception of Cagalli's blonde hair and amber orbs.

Lenore then shook her head and thought that she must just be seeing things since she hadn't been sleeping well lately with her deadline for her sketches fast approaching. For that twinge of a second, she really did see Kira and Via's faces in Cagalli's.

Getting the thought out of her head, Lenore blinked her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Are you alright, Auntie Lenore?" Both Cagalli and Isabelle asked at the same time which caused them to laugh.

"Great minds think alike." Isabelle winked at Cagalli.

"I'm fine ladies, just need some rest. Alright then, I assume that Cagalli has found her dress for the party. Get going, you don't want to be late for your classes." Lenore smiled.

"It's okay, Auntie Lenore; Cagalli has two days medical leave and I intended to bring her to the Zala's mansion for a girl's night out. Is that okay with you?" Isabelle asked excitedly.

"Of course, sweeties. Patrick and I welcome you. See you tomorrow, Cagalli." Lenore waved to them before she excused herself and left the room to go to her office to touch up her sketches.

"Get changed, Cagalli. We're still meeting Lacus and the rest for lunch and we don't want to be late." Isabelle reminded Cagalli.

"Oh god, we're only left with half an hour to return to campus! I will be out in a minute." Cagalli exclaimed as she made her way into the changing room.

**Eternal High, Administrative building...**

Ahmed was sitting on a bench waiting for the headmistress to arrive. Being new to this campus, every little tiny thing freaked him out. i.e. From the thunderous voices of the fan girls and their very interesting professors.

_"What a weird professor that I met earlier_." Ahmed cursed under his breath as this was the worst day of his life ever, prior to that blonde girl punching him straight in the face, and then 10 minutes ago having to deal with another blonde guy coming over to pester him. He cringed as he remembered what had just happened:

**10 minutes ago -**

_"Yo, bacon-face...I've got a joke for you!" The blonde professor shouted in Ahmed's direction._

_"What?" Ahmed asked in a frustrated tone._

_"Why is the number 10 afraid of seven?" the professor asked with a chuckle._

_"No idea." Ahmed replied already growing tired of this person._

_"Because seven ate nine." With that Mu started laughing to himself as then continued to make his way to the physics lab, leaving poor Ahmed alone to try and grasp the humour of his joke._

The more Ahmed thought about it, the more he groaned at how terrible it was.

"Mr Ahmed, I assume?" Talia greeted him and offered him a hand to shake.

"Yes, and you are?" Ahmed asked her as he shook her hand, Athrun Zala tagging along behind her looking annoyed.

_"Ugh. Why do I have to baby-sit this Ahmed guy? He was my opponent yesterday in the match! Why on earth did father approve of his application?!" Athrun's inner-self screamed as he started cursing._

"Welcome to Eternal High. I'm Miss Talia Gladys, the headmistress of this campus and behind me is Mr. Athrun Zala, the campus founder's son. He will be your tour guide for one week, so feel free to ask him anything if you're unsure of something and here's your schedule and your hostel key."

" Oh, and by the way, I almost forgot to tell you; since you transferred in mid-term... your first semester grade will be an incomplete. If you don't work to the fullest, I'm afraid that you won't graduate this year and you would have to repeat your studies again. Is this okay with you Mr. Ahmed?"

"It doesn't matter as long I'm off that ex-campus of mine. If there's nothing else, please excuse us Miss Gladys." Ahmed bowed slightly before he and Athrun made their way to Ahmed's hostel room.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you even transfer to my campus?" Athrun asked him curiously while giving the boy the evil eye.

"Please don't get me wrong. I didn't transfer campuses because of the match we lost yesterday; it's just that... coincidentally my transfer date was the same as our match and I had to postpone it. Does this answer your question, Mr. Athrun Zala?" Ahmed answered honestly.

"So you finally get my name correctly. No it doesn't answer my question." Athrun replied back in a frustrated tone.

"Fine, Geez Zala you're so long winded. I transferred to Eternal High because of our future partnership and because my dad found out that your father, Uncle Patrick. Best of all, it's one of the most elite campuses in PLANTS." Ahmed explained and continued:

"In other words, this campus trains it's students to be professionals in whichever course they take and ensures that they would have higher employment rates as compared to my old campus. Minerva High's professors were the worst professors I've ever met in my entire life. "

"They don't teach and don't even print notes for us. We have to do our own research and print our own notes and there's lots of public speaking projects for the entire semester, so almost every day have to prepare. So tell me how on earth do we find extra time for revision and refresher courses?"

"I believe professionalism is the word you're looking for, Mr. Ahmed." Athrun replied coolly as he just summarized the boy's ramble in one word.

"Oh yeah, professionalism. Eternal High is a legacy on our campus. Did you know that all the students in Minerva High hope to transfer to EU one day? However, none of them got as lucky as me." Ahmed boasted.

"Right, and now who's the long –winded person now; Mr. Ahmed?" Athrun retorted as he stopped dead in his tracks in front of Ahmed's dorm room: "Here's your room, I'm warning you... you're sharing the same room as Yuuna Roma Seiran the mullet man thief, good luck."

Ahmed stopped the blue haired boy by tapping him on the shoulder: "How about an acquaintance handshake?"

Athrun smirked as he began to offer his hand and then abruptly pulled it back before turning on his heels and leaving.

"Aww Athrun, no need to be so rude to the new guy!" Ahmed shouted just as Athrun flashed him an icy glare before turning the corner that led to the stairwell.

_"Oh Ahmed, you're such an easy-going person, to be my friend it takes more than that; but nice try." Athrun thought to himself with a satisfied smirk as he headed towards the cafeteria._

* * *

><p><strong>[1]- <strong>Trust me, I wanted to add more scenes in this chapter but again great things are worth the wait!

**First Edition**: Year 2010

**Modified Edition:** Year 2014

MEL~

22/9/14

1.18AM


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